The 12 Elements of AshMas, Volume 2
by Pete the Rock
Summary: This is the second series of one-shots in retrospect to the holiday song "12 Days of Christmas." Ash gets love from 12 lucky ladies. The elements are decided by the poll in my profile.
1. Home Run to Pallet Town

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

Summary: This is the second series of one-shots in retrospect to the holiday song "12 Days of Christmas." Ash gets love from 12 lucky ladies. The elements are decided by the poll in my profile.

Chapter Shipping: Baseballshipper

_**12 Elements of AshMas, Volume 2**_

_One-shot 1:Home Run to Pallet Town_

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><p>Ash, Misty and Brock and their Pokémon friends had arrived at what tears people to go separate ways: the dubious fork in the road. It had been a long journey among this group of rag-tag trainers through Johto. Ever since her bike was amazingly repaired by Nurse Joy, Misty would forgive Ash for what happened on the very first day of Ash's career in Pokémon training when Ash took it to get Pikachu help. A thunderstorm roared where Pikachu totaled the bike while fending off a flock of Spearow. Misty gave Ash an earful at how careless he was with Pikachu and her bike and stayed with Ash through Kanto, the Orange Islands and Johto so that Ash could pay for a new ride. Brock only joined after his father, Flint returned back in Pewter City to pursue his dream of being a breeder. He only broke momentarily to be with Prof. Ivy... "That name..." he murmured. What? Was it something someone said? And why was he hunkered by a tree? Ash and Misty were familiar with Brock's awkward disposition.<p>

"One of these days, he'll tell us what happened between him and Prof. Ivy," Misty mulled. Ash slightly adjusted his cap to try and hide his disgust at Brock's overreaction to a name.

"Come on, Brock!" he tried to get his friend moving again. "Your brothers and sisters don't wanna see you like that." After a minute on the grass, Brock rose back up.

"Sorry," he apologized. "You're right. I can't look like a disgrace." Ash and Misty sighed in relief and chuckled softly, trying not to further humiliate their breeder. "Well, I guess this...is it."

"Yeah," Misty sighed, saddened to be breaking from the two friends who she befriended over the extent. Ash, a wannabe Pokémon Master who showed a grit from someone who showed more care for Pokémon than she anticipated. "To think, we went through everything together and now we're separating for good..." She didn't want to leave Ash's side. Her whole purpose of being with him was to make him pay for a new bike but now that her bike's in perfect shape, she felt that she nagged him for apparently borrowing the bike if only for Pikachu's health. Ash realized something Misty had overlooked.

"Like I said before," he reminded. "We were meant to be friends. It wasn't just a big coincidence that the three of us just decided to travel together, right Brock?"

"Absolutely," the breeder snapped a fine reply. "Same goes with Pikachu, Togepi and all of the other Pokémon we've come across." Pikachu and Togepi squeaked, acknowledging Brock's and Ash's statements.

"I guess," Misty shuttered with a smile. "I'm sorry. I just feel like we just got to know each other..." The boys felt the same way. That's when Brock brought out a tiny white case along with a fork and knife.

"Here, Ash. A little lunch for you on your way back." It was very thoughtful. Ash was beside himself. A farewell gift...from a close friend.

"Brock..." he gulped, starting to show fear in losing a comrade. "Thanks...a lot!" Now it was Misty's turn.

"Hold on," she interrupted as she snagged the lunch and utensils. She wrapped the lunch in a plaid-pattern handkerchief and knotted the fork and knife on top. "Something to keep your mouth clean." Ash was speechless. First, Brock with this lunch and now Misty with the handkerchief. Ash began to tear up. He didn't want to break up with these two now. Yet, he knew that Misty was going back to Cerulean City and Brock back to Pewter.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, you two!" he choked a farewell. "You two...take care of yourselves." Misty and Brock were willing to do the same.

"Yeah, you too," Brock praised. "See ya." The three and the Pokémon gave their farewells, even Togepi. They traveled down the three separating paths. Brock headed north to Pewter, Misty and Togepi biked east to Cerulean and Ash and Pikachu scooted south for Pallet Town. Along the way, Ash and Pikachu sat by a stream and proceeded to eat Brock's lunch. Ash kept looking back at the path behind them, wondering if maybe breaking the band was such a good idea.

("You miss them already, huh?") Pikachu asked. Ash understood where Pikachu was starting from. It hadn't been half a day but already felt as if he didn't like the idea of breaking with Misty and Brock.

"Maybe there's a chance that we'll journey together again," he wished. "Where, I'm not sure. I'll need to talk to Prof. Oak about any regions that are available." A positive thought. That's when something shot out of nowhere: a miniature baseball glove attached to a string which snagged a piece of shrimp. "What the-!" The glove reeled back up to a tree where a violet-haired girl reeled in the catch of the day. She wore a white cap with a lightning bolt for an emblem and a yellow button down shirt.

"Now that's what I call a line drive catch!" she sneered before snacking on it.

"Casey?" Leaping down, Casey joined Ash and Pikachu for Brock's lunch. "What are you doing here?" Casey let off a little scoff.

"Well, the Electabuzz are planning on taking an overseas trip in the Hoenn Region and are ready for Inter-Region play." Okay but that didn't explain- "And since I heard from Misty that you hated to be in one place for an extended time. Besides, you did finish in the Top Eight and I think a trip to the Hoenn Region would satisfy you." So that's why. Casey thought a new region would be fitting for Ash and with her baseball club traveling to compete in a few crossover games, she was pretty much asking Ash to go with her to Hoenn.

"The Hoenn Region, huh? That sounds like a great idea. I'll go and see if Prof. Oak will approve." Casey bobbed a couple nods as they finished Brock's lunch. They got up and headed toward Pallet Town. Watching the confidence he strolled, Casey wondered about that loss which he ended up in the Top Eight.

"So, that battle with Harrison.." To recall the Quarterfinal battle, Ash huffed.

"He got the better of me, that's all." Casey shrugged her shoulders, disbelieving how easily satisfied Ash acted.

"Goodness, Ash! You let this easygoing attitude go to your head, you'll suffer a loss more embarrassing than the one I suffered when we first met." No one wants to suffer a downfall. Speaking of downfall... a pit opened beneath their feet. Ash, Casey and Pikachu fell in but Ash reacted fast with the steel fork and knife, jabbed into the pit's wall. Casey snagged onto Ash and Ash was mustering all the strength to keep them from diving deeper than normal.

"You okay?" Pikachu chirped to know he's still around. Suddenly, laughter from above. It couldn't be...

"Prepare for trouble, you're without a friend," Jessie incorrectly teased.

"Make it double, protecting Pikachu is at an end!" James added to the idiocy. Ash, Casey and Pikachu looked up, noting the red "R" emblems.

"Team Rocket!" they shouted in unison. Hearing the two distinct voices, Team Rocket realized their miscalculation.

"Hold on," Jessie stuttered. "Didn't the twerp break away from the water twerp and breeder twerp?" They're starting to get on track.

"Meowth did witness their divorce so maybe they did it as a diversion to throw us off track," James theorized. Now they're way off. Casey was starting to lose her grip around Ash's waist. Her arms were beginning to tire.

"Ah...Ash?" she shouted. Ash had to do something. Casey was about to drop and all he could do was hang onto the steel utensils...or did he?

"Ready to dive, Pikachu?" he whispered. With one silent squeak, Ash planted his feet on the dirt wall. He took breaths to get a feel for the right timing. Now! He released the utensils, jumped from the wall and spun around to grab Casey and Pikachu. They fell beyond the sight of Team Rocket, much to their surprise.

"The twerp went willfully into the hole!" Meowth, who just now appeared from another tree, gasped in fright. It was a deep pit, almost twice as deep as recommended.

"If I had either Victreebel on hand, this would've been the perfect opportunity to use its Vine Whip and fish Pikachu out!" James growled.

"Relax," Jessie eased down with a plan. "Arbok can still do that for us." James and Meowth cheered in glee. Unfortunately, that glee was about to be short-lived.

"Thanks but we can get ourselves outta here," Ash grinned as a few green vines shot from the pit. Team Rocket watched on in awe at how far that vine reached, much less how long it was. They realized that they were in a bit of a pickle and the sour taste would get more bitter. Popping out of the pit, Bayleef and her evolved form Meganium emerged with Ash cradling Casey in his arms on top of the bigger Herb Pokémon. "Bayleef, Body Slam!" Bayleef released her grip and descended onto Meowth who was easily flattened. Alley Cat-cake, anyone?

"Elekid, let's go!" Casey shouted as she tossed Elekid's Pokéball, releasing the pre-evolved form of her baseball team's name. "Elekid, use Thunderbolt!" Elekid spun its arms in a rapid circular motion before firing the bolts at the bad thieves heavily.

"Pikachu, wrap this up with Thunder!" Pikachu squeezed his cheeks and shot out a giant stream of lightning before... KABOOM! That couldn't have gone any better if these two saw the oversight of Casey.

"Well, I didn't expect the Ra-Ra girl to help back the twerp's return to his hometown," Jessie gawked as she tried to figure out how it all went so wrong. Everything they tried went so wrong.

"I'm actually more shocked that he'd risk his twerpy health to pull that stunt he did to escape us, even using our own dug pit," James reviewed.

"Speaking of pits, I believe we dug our own graves as soon as da boss hears dis," Meowth shivered. It was time for their signature send-off as they sailed over the trees.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they yelled together as they disappeared. For Ash, Casey and the Pokémon, it was a job well done as they cheered in celebration.

"Now that's what I call teamwork!" he smiled. That's when he felt his hands getting heavy. He nearly forgot about Casey but she was preoccupied with the fact that Ash was holding onto her and it wasn't her hand. Her cheeks burned rosy red. "Is it all right if I put you down? My hands are starting to give way." Casey snapped out and turned to Ash. She wrapped her arms around Ash's head and coddled her head onto Ash's shoulder.

"Lemme stay like this for a little longer," she murmured with a smile. "...My MVP." Ash surrendered as the Pokémon began the rest of the trip back to Pallet. "By the way, great teamwork on that triple play." Ash could shrug his shoulders if they weren't being used. He had no clue about baseball. Well, almost no clue.

"Nah, Team Rocket made that dubious error for us to get it." Casey chuckled, thinking Ash made a baseball joke about the jokes who pitted them. That's when she made a "swing" for Ash as she holstered herself up and softly kissed him on the lips. Ash was surprised with this. Quickly parting, Casey smiled as if it was no big deal. Ash was nearly at a loss for words. "You stole my base~!" Another funny giggle from Casey was a soft reminder that Ash was more than a tough trainer. He was a comedian.

"Just wait until we get to Home Plate." Whoa! Casey was ready to swing for the fences and Ash couldn't get himself to come out of the dugout to argue. At least there's one word to describe the rest of the way to Pallet: SAFE!

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><p>End of ELECTRICITY<p>

(Yes I've started early. I'm giving 3 Worlds and Resident Evil a rest until I complete all 12 chaps of this. Keep those votes coming as DRAGON, STEEL & BUG are in a three-way tie. Who gets to claim the second chapter?)


	2. To Date the Coordinator's Rival

A/N: In an overwhelming poll position, DRAGON takes the second chapter.

Shipping: OutburstShipper

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><p><em>One-shot 2: To Date the Coordinator's Rival<em>

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><p>In what had to be one of the biggest mistakes in Dawn's career, she had to watch Ash go out on a date with her rival, Ursula. She couldn't bear to see Ash botch a date with one of her rivals. Even more dumbfound, Ash was disturbingly clueless about dating, let alone participate in one. "Why did I even agree to this dare?" she whined back at the Pokémon Center with Brock and their Pokémon, which included Pikachu. The Pokémon knew what happened. Brock knew what happened. Even Dawn, though humiliated about it, knew she introduced Ash into a game he deserved no part of.<p>

"I do admit that it was a rather careless move," Brock lowly murmured. "But you battled her like it was a contest battle instead of a regular Pokémon battle." So what happened that embarrassed Dawn and arranged a date between Ash and Ursula?

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><p><em>(Flashback...)<em>

_In an open field, Ash and the gang was about to run into Ursula who was pondering how Dawn was so great during Pokémon contests. "Dee Dee!" she called out. Ever since her humiliating nickname emerged no thanks to Kenny, Dawn got rattled by being called Dee Dee._

"_All right, who said that?" she snarled as her head whipped in every direction except in front. Ursula stepped out and sighed at the rather clueless coordinator from Twinleaf._

"_I love that reaction from you. It's priceless! Anyway, it's actually a good thing I ran into you." Hearing that, the group was suspicious._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Everywhere you go around Sinnoh, you always have Ash by your side. Are you two by any chance...dating?" Dawn was flushed and blushed in embarrassment._

"_Dating?" Ash blankly questioned. Ursula figured that the two weren't acting boyfriend and girlfriend._

"_Guess I was wrong. Figures. You two don't seem to be compatible." Dawn's growl told Ursula that she was pushing her buttons. "So I'm wondering if I can take him for a night out." Dawn didn't like her offer to take Ash away from her and Brock, even for a moment._

"_In your dreams!" Ursula huffed, expecting resistance from her coordinator rival._

"_Always the hard way. Then how about a Pokémon battle, one-on-one? You win, I'll leave you alone. But if I win, I'll have Ash for the night." Dawn grinned, confident she'll beat Ursula down._

"_You know I'll beat you hands down." Challenge! Distancing each other, Brock stayed by the sideline with the prize and Pikachu._

"_This is a battle between Dawn and Ursula," Brock announced. "Each trainer will use only one Pokémon each with no time limit. Let the battle begin!" Both tossed their Pokéballs._

"_Mamoswine, spot...light!" Dawn summoned. The Pokéball opened to reveal Mamoswine, the Twin Tusk Pokémon._

"_Gabite, let's go!" Ursula called upon. Her Pokéball opened to reveal Gabite, her Cave Pokémon._

"_Mamoswine, Ice Shard!" Mamoswine...turned around and used its back hoof instead of attacking. That infuriated Dawn. "Come on, Mamoswine! At least listen!" Mamoswine yawned, uninterested in fighting._

"_This is gonna be a disaster," Ash studied. Ursula decided to take advantage of Mamoswine's disobedience._

"_Gabite, Dragon Rage!" Gabite spat out a fireball which struck the tiny fuzz tail of Mamoswine. Mamoswine felt the tail on fire and shook the flame off. Finally, it faced Gabite._

"_It's about time you saw your opponent," Dawn snapped. "Now, Ice Shard!" Mamoswine breathed out a cold air which formed into a cluster of ice. "Now combine it with Hidden Power!" Mamoswine launched the Ice Shard instead of summoning Hidden Power, much to Dawn's chagrin. "What are you doing!" Ursula took advantage._

"_Sandstorm, now!" Gabite summoned a nasty mix of sand and blasts of winds which chipped Ice Shard into little snowflakes. Ash was impressed._

"_Nice to use an attack as a shield," he observed. Mamoswine lost the last nerve and charged at Gabite as the Sandstorm lifted._

"_I didn't tell you to use Take Down!" Dawn argued. Ursula was ready to act._

"_Dragon Rage, once more!" she ordered. Gabite fired one more Dragon Rage which hit a weak spot in a mighty big explosion._

"_Mamoswine!" The smoke cleared and Mamoswine was out._

"_Mamoswine is unable to continue!" Brock judged. "Gabite wins and the match goes to Ursula!" Ursula snickered at the defeated Dawn before she strutted to Ash, poking a finger at his nose._

"_6:30 in front of the Pokémart," Ursula warned. "I earned you." She continued on as Ash and Brock watched her instead of Dawn blubbering why Mamoswine ignored her commands._

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><p>5:30. One more hour before Ash's date with destiny...but that would be too credulous. Finally, Ash stepped out of the rented room wearing a long sleeve shirt and clean jeans with her hair slicked back a bit. Hearing footsteps, Brock, Dawn and the Pokémon twisted to see the new looking Pallet Town trainer. "Well?" he voiced. "How do I look?" Dawn turned back, not willing to see her friend going out with a rival. You could bet if it was Cynthia or maybe her, she'd be fine with. Brock and the Pokémon approved the snazzy look on Ash.<p>

"Not too shabby," Brock approved. Satisfied, Ash smoothed his sleeves of wrinkles.

"I did talk with Mom about what to do on a date and made a couple of extra arrangements with a movie and a restaurant." Planning ahead, huh? Even Pikachu was taken by surprise. This was someone who rarely thought at all.

"For someone going on his first date, you're taking every precaution necessary." Seeing a smile on the breeder's face made Ash a little uneasy. "Yeah, I'm a little jealous about you having a date before me but she's more of your age type. Plus, you're a lot more steady on your feet." Perhaps it's from his battles like the one Dawn lost.

"It's actually from when we were at the Goldenrod City Radio Station with DJ Mary. When you think about it, a date's like an interview, right?" Brock and the Pokémon were rather awed. Ash was going by a theory which made interesting sense. Ash was more set than anyone anticipated. At 6, Ash made his stroll to the Pokémart which took 20 minutes no thanks to the stop lights. To his surprise, Ursula, in a tank top under an open-button and a shorter black skirt, was early...and appearing rather uneasy. "Ursula?" Hearing her name, Ursula turned to Ash, showing more nervousness.

"O-oh, uh..." she fidgeted as Ash got to her side. Dawn, Brock, Pikachu and Piplup peered around a building side to make sure Romeo doesn't botch this meeting...or that he did screw it up somehow to save pride. "A-Ash! I, uh...didn't really think you'd live up to the bet." Ash smiled, nearly laughing for Ursula almost backing out of her deal.

"Hey, I'm always looking to try something new, even dating." The date was stunned.

"You mean I'm not the only one who's going out for the first time?" This was Ursula's first time, too? To Dawn, this was a new side of Ursula she's never seen in her young life. Who knew the rival who was so cocky when it came to contests had more Butterfree in her stomach than she thought? "I-I heard that you traveled with other girls so I believed you'd know what to do. I'm...I'm shocked!" It was about to get more shocking for her.

"Fortunately, I took the liberty to arranged dinner and a movie." He flashed a pair of movie tickets to Ursula who read the movie title.

"Hey, I read a review about this movie. It's suppose to be one of the best movies in this genre to hit the silver screen in a decade." After some extra standing, they moved on, the spy team not wanting to stay far behind. At the restaurant, Ash and Ursula were having a nice and funny conversation with Ash not trying hard at all to make himself a joke. Instead, he talked about the funny moments in his life. Ursula offered her stories as well. Ursula acted more mannered in front of Ash than Dawn. After eating and paying, they moved to the theater for the movie. Popcorn and pop, Ash and Ursula sat in the best spot to see the movie: the center. As they watched the movie, Pikachu, Pachirisu and Piplup opened a tile above the giant room to observe the couple. Ash sat up, his hands on the armrest. Suddenly, a climatic moment in the movie forced Ursula to lean forward...and grasped his hand with her's. They noticed it and looked to the locked hands before locking eyes. The Pokémon could only watch helplessly at the two. They quickly smiled and turned back to the movie, still hands held together. When the movie ended, Ash and Ursula walked out, heading back to the Pokémon Center. "That was a great movie."

"Tell me about it. I thought some of the love scenes were a bit over the top but not as much the pratfalls. Ugh!" A childish chuckle from Ursula was sweet.

"You know, this went better than I thought. This was our virgin voyage when it comes to dates, let alone with each other." Ash couldn't agree more. That's when Ursula jumped in front of Ash with an idea. "Say, Ash. Any chance we can have another date in the near future."

"Sure, you bet." Ursula was satisfied and delivered the best part of a first date: a kiss. Dawn cringed as she saw the two lip-locked. Could it be that Ash had formed an alliance with her rival? She couldn't bear to see Ash break with her and Brock for...her! It could be a sign of things to come. Both broke, satisfied with the good night.

"Until next time...dear." Ursula walked off with a blush and favorable liking to the friend of a rival. It was almost like Romeo & Juliet.

"So!" Dawn shouted. "How was your date?" Ash never turned to Dawn, almost knowing that he was being spied on the whole time.

"What do you think?" he countered. "You guys didn't believe I'd do the date thing? You were watching me the entire time." Dawn couldn't believe Ash knew he was being watched this whole time. "Pachirisu at the restaurant under the tablecloth, Staraptor and Happiny from the trip from said restaurant to theater, Pachirisu with Pikachu and Piplup from the roof..." Forget that Ash was calm with going on a date. He knew that Dawn was using their Pokémon to monitor Ash. But how did he know about Pachirisu in the restaurant? Or Staraptor and Happiny?

"W-W-Well..." Ash was not pleased with the dirty tactics of Dawn.

"I understand that she's a rival but how would I feel if you told me you wanted to go on a date with Gary?" Way to go, Ash. You made Dawn a blubbering mess. She collapsed onto her knees, sobbing.

"I'm sorry, Ash! I...I-I couldn't help myself!" Ash huffed a sigh, disappointed with Dawn's inability to keep her nose out of Ash's business, including using the Pokémon to peer into his date.

"Let's just get back to the Pokémon Center." The Pokémon followed Ash back to the Center which included a doping Dawn. At a room with the lady of the night, Ursula was sleeping quite soundly. Most of her body was resting but her mouth kept motoring.

"I love you, Ash," she dreamed. "I love you, Ash..." she kept repeating those four words throughout the night and into the next sunrise. She may have a grudge on Dawn...but she has a really tight admiration of Ash. Perhaps it may be best for Ash to be siding with Ursula. She's far more compliant than Dawn...as long as they don't meet.

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><p>END of DRAGON<p>

(This was a tough choice with Ursula, Clair and Cynthia. Since I never did a story with Ursula [Cynthia in a couple and Clair in the Population series] I thought she might deserve some of the spotlight. I'm gonna refresh my poll to see who you want to do next.)


	3. Keep Your Chinchou Up

A/N: Thanks to you and those on Facebook, chapter 3's Element is Psychic

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>Shipping: SpiketailShipper<p><p>

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><em>One-Shot 3: The Chosen Evolved Eevee<em>

Ash, Misty, Brock, and the Pokémon were relaxing on a beach after a long, erogenous stroll through a bewildering forest. Okay, Ash continuously kept getting the group lost. At least the group could take a break from Ash's misguiding compass. Ash could be using this time of rest for training. However, his body needed to rest too. Misty and Brock were already in dream land and Ash was about to join them when a meow opened his eyes. Pikachu and Togepi woke up to the same meow and saw an Espeon. Ash spotted the Sun Pokémon, curious as to why it was here. "Hey, an Espeon!" he gasped. Espeon turned to the side, continuing it's meows. "Are you calling for someone?" Ash turned to the side where a young magenta-haired girl sprinted to Espeon.

"Espeon!" she called out. Ash was a bit surprised to see her.

"Sakura?" Sakura stopped and turned to Ash who was sitting up.

"Ash! This is an interesting surprise."

"You're telling me. What are you doing here?"

"My sisters and I are taking a break from tea ceremonies. And this morning, I'd thought I take Espeon out for a walk this afternoon. Although..." Hearing "although" had Ash thinking that there's a problem with her Pokémon. To him, communication with Pokémon was vital to being a great trainer.

"Is there something wrong with Espeon?" Sakura's looked at Espeon which had an urge to check out something beyond their standing location.

"Espeon's sensing something from a good distance away and wants to go check it out." There was trouble on the horizon. Even Togepi was itching to assist the human friend. Quickly, Ash tried to shake Misty up.

"Misty, wake up!" Misty moaned but didn't stir. "Come on!" Unfortunately, the trip here was enough for Misty.

"You're not gonna get us lost again, Ash Ketchum!' she snapped in dreamland. She was still upset from the journey. Ash chose to give up while Espeon and Togepi raced ahead.

"We don't have time!" Sakura reminded. "Espeon and Togepi are ahead of us!" Surrendering, Ash forgone trying Brock and gone ahead with Sakura and Pikachu. It wouldn't take long when they found a cave half a mile away from the Gym Leaders. Espeon snarled by the cavern entrance. "Espeon's got a scent." Ash wondered what Espeon detected inside the cave. Food? No, Sakura fed it normally. Treasure? There are Pokémon that can find treasure with their senses. Maybe an injured Pokémon? Some of Sakura's care for the Sun Pokémon might have rubbed off on it. The next question was why wasn't Espeon entering the cave? Too dark?

"There's definitely something in there that Espeon wanted us to check out," he figured out. Sakura studied the cave by Ash a good few yards away.

"But the cave's too dark to enter safely." Ash simply smirked. He had a solution to that.

"Get Espeon and Togepi to regroup. It's better if-" Espeon sensed something from the cave. Using it's fork-like tail, it scooped Togepi and retreated back to the rocks where Ash and Sakura hid. Ash was a tad surprised. "That was my plan, Espeon." Espeon meowed like it was nothing. "Togepi, take it easy when running off like that. We don't wanna worry Misty, right?" Togepi quietly shrilled, saddened from getting a scolding from it's trainer's friend. Pikachu assured Togepi that Ash wasn't mad at it, just concerned. That's when Pikachu heard footsteps from the cave. He turned to the cave, followed by the rest. Out of the cave was a pair of Rockets...but they weren't the Rockets Ash dealt with weekly.

"Hurry up, Hutch!" Cassidy scolded. Hutch had a bit of a hard time with a huge rubber sack.. He dragged it across the rocky terrain before the sand.

"How many times do I gotta tell ya?" he snapped. "The name is Butch!" Whoops! Sorry Butch! "You don't need to apologize, Author. You just heard the name and followed." Uh...thanks.

"Now what do you suppose those two are doing with an oversize bag?" Ash wondered.

"I dunno," Sakura shrugged. "That's the first time seeing those two." As soon as Cassidy and Butch cleared away, Ash and Sakura made their move with Togepi in Sakura's arms. Ash pulled a Pokéball from his shorts pocket and opened to release Cyndaquil. Sakura was a bit surprised with Ash's Pokémon choice.

"Cyndaquil, warm your back on fire to provide light." Cyndaquil lit his back on fire and the cavern walls brightened up. That's why Ash chose his Fire Mouse Pokémon. Lighting the way, Cyndaquil led Ash and Sakura deep into the cave. The cave, as it turned out, was a large storage unit with a water tank full of cramped Chinchou.

"No way! Look at the school of Chinchou!" Ash was stunned...and angered. There's no way he'd let Cassidy and Butch get away with all these Chinchou.

"No doubt they plan on taking these Chinchou to Dr. Namba. Why, I'd rather stop before finding out." Ash started to find some way to release the Chinchou from their cage when Espeon sensed something coming.

"They're back." Cyndaquil killed the flame where the kids and Pokémon hid. Sure enough, Cassidy returned and seemed to be searching for something.

"I don't understand why need to capture mating Chinchou," she groaned. "Shouldn't Dr. Panda just be satisfied with just one?" Was there another mistake? It wasn't- RING! A cell phone? Cassidy pulled a phone from her skirt pocket to answer. "Hello?"

"IT'S NAMBA!" another voice angrily snapped. Enough of the bellow, Cassidy hung up.

"It's bad enough that Bunch still yells for no reason. I don't need Nada to give me the same treatment." Well, perhaps it would help if you got their names right! RING! Namba's calling again. Cassidy answered. "Look, I don't know how many-"

"IT'S STILL NAMBA!" Cassidy hung him up again. Man, Cassidy had no respect for men, especially if she can't get their names correct. Suddenly, she spotted a Chinchou glaring at a fixed direction...right at the heroes. She got suspicious.

"You're not getting one Chinchou... Raticate, attack!" Cassidy released Raticate which chased the heroes. Espeon and Pikachu jumped out and struck Raticate with a tag team Quick Attack. Raticate landed a foot from Cassidy who didn't want the Mouse Pokémon to quit. "Get up, Raticate! Super Fang!" Ash popped out to battle Cassidy.

"No you don't!" he shouted. "Pikachu, Agility!" Pikachu evaded Raticate's giant buck teeth bites across the floor, wearing Raticate out. Ash tried to do double duty. "Cyndaquil, use Flamethrower to melt the glass!" Cyndaquil fired a stream of fire which burnt a hole in the glass large enough for the Chinchou to escape. A blasting stream of water sprayed out and headed right at Cyndaquil. Fortunately, Espeon snatched Cyndaquil from harm as the Chinchou escaped.

"No! The Chinchou!" Suddenly, the weakened glass shattered where Sakura and Togepi watched rather helplessly. Sakura screamed where Ash leaped in front of her, taking the water pressure and broken glass to his bare chested body. Realizing that the water didn't strike her, she looked up, spotting Ash take gallon after gallon in the back. "Pinch!" Was she calling an attack or-

"It's Butch!" Butch snapped back as he returned with more netted Chinchou. When Butch saw the flooding cavern, he realized there was a problem. The freed Chinchou started lighting their antennae. They were in for a shock. The Chinchou united with a combined electric attack which lit the cavern back to the entrance. KABOOM! That blast was so loud and so forceful, it stirred Misty and Brock from their beach side siesta.

"What was that?" Misty shrieked. Brock wasn't sure. The blast was a wake up call that no one wanted.

"I don't know!" he growled. "Let's check it out!" No need. Cassidy and Butch were flying off over the ocean.

"Now I know how Jessie and James feel when they lose to that brat," Cassidy whined. "Wouldn't you agree, bud?" Butch didn't act annoyed, perhaps thinking that she was just referring to a friend instead of grossly mistaking his name.

"Let me tell ya," he groaned. "Before our next mission, you'd better get my name right." Don't forget Namba.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they yelled in unison. Bye! Back at the cave, Ash's back was heavily scratched up as most of the Chinchou wadded back to the ocean. Just a handful of the Angler Pokémon were worried about Ash while Sakura gazed at the grin of Ash, thankful that she and Togepi were safe.

"You all right, Sakura?" he groaned a smile. Sakura, cheeks blushing wildly while stunned at Ash sacrificing his health, nodded. "That's good." He collapsed to the floor, weakened by the water flow and the glass shredding his back.

"Ash!" Sakura freaked. Espeon put Cyndaquil down to help Ash back up. As he tried to rest, Sakura acted humbled. There was no need to protect Sakura unless it was about Togepi. Didn't want to upset Misty, huh? Misty and Brock arrived where Togepi and Pikachu reached the two.

"Sakura?" Misty gulped. Brock realized something about Sakura's presence.

"If Sakura's here, her sisters have gotta be here too!" he figured before storming off. "See ya!" That was random. Misty watched in chagrin as Sakura was tending to Ash's injuries, seeing how close she was to him. She could take into account the massive damage to the facility or the Chinchou that watched on. Sakura smiled, wishing to thank Ash. An hour after the incident, Pikachu, Togepi and Cyndaquil were playing with the Chinchou school. Thanks to Misty, Brock was yanked from Sakura's older sisters after a moment to track him down. The humans monitored the Pokémon from the beach with Espeon.

"So that's what happened," Misty figured when Ash and Sakura told them of the Chinchou rescue. "I think Espeon found us because it knew we could solve problems it sensed." Sakura could agree.

"I think so, too," she huffed. "Though for Ash to protect me when that container broke was rather brave of him." Ash blinked, unsure if he wanted to agree.

"Really?" he questioned. "I was just making sure Togepi wasn't hurt." Misty believed Ash was looking out for her baby Pokémon. Sakura?

"Perhaps but you gave me another reason to wanna travel with you. You see, I now wanna tag along because of you willing to risk your life to protect the innocent." Misty had a bad feeling about Sakura's suggestion.

"What do you mean?" One grin was all Sakura had to show.

"Espeon, Psybeam." Espeon hit Ash with a rainbow beam which buckled his knees easily. Guess he was still weak from that explosion. "This is my ultimate thank you." She knelt down and kissed Ash in the lips while consumed in the Psybeam herself. The Psybeam floored the two, softly, onto the beach as Misty and Brock freaked out. The Pokémon awed Ash getting a kiss from his best cup of tea he could savor. He'll drink to that while Misty and Brock just watched, not wanting to get caught in the same Psybeam. Pikachu would drink to that.

END of PSYCHIC

(Alright, three down, nine to go and there's a three-way battle for the top. Keep those votes coming. Consider this my St. Nick stocking stuffer.)


	4. Turbulence at Second Sight

A/N: Heading airborne thanks to you, FLYING is our next chapter  
>Shipping: SwellowShipper<p>

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><p><em>One-shot 4: Turbulence at Second Sight<em>

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><p>Ash, Brock, May, Max and their Pokémon friends were enjoying a nice lunch under the shade of a giant tree. Nothing says heartwarming than a scrumptious bowl of stew. "New recipe, huh?" Max figured.<p>

"You noticed, huh?" Brock chuckled. "Actually got this recipe from Clair back in Johto. I just needed the right spices." Never hurts to try something new or different. Ash had enough. He plopped on the grass looking up, perhaps already dreaming of earning his next badge. May looked down at Ash, wondering why he wasn't eating anymore of Brock's stew.

"You can't be full already," she teased. Ash looked at May with a smug. Normally, Ash could eat the cauldron of food dry. Was it something earlier in the day?

"I'm still suffering from the breakfast you made," he groaned. A strange gargling noise ruptured from his stomach. Ash pressed his hand onto the stomach in some pain. May itched her head in humility. She gave him a stomachache?

"Yeah, well I thought if Brock can be a master cook, I could try to make something decent. Apparently, I still need work." Ash moaned in some pain.

"Give him a little while, May," Brock advised. "Sometimes my cooking does more than just fill empty tummies." What magic did Brock lace into the stew? The glasses boy snickered.

"I'm onto your game," Max sneered. Brock wondered what Max was mentioning. "Clair's the Blackthorn City Gym Leader and uses Dragon-Type Pokémon. You're using a recipe in order to 'roar' the stomachache away." Brock wanted to question Max's hypothesis. Despite the stomachache, Ash sat up to speak his mind.

"Max, what kind of world do you live in?" he pondered. Max couldn't do much more than simply itch his own skull. Before long, a screech...from a human. Before anyone could react, a huge thud rocked the tree. It was enough to make Ash roll from the tree and near Mudkip and Pikachu. Everyone looked at the tree, wondering what just happened.

"That didn't sound good," Brock realized. Ash got up regardless of the pain in his stomach and took a couple steps back. Good move. Crashing from the tree was a Skarmory. It didn't look too well from how bent the left wing was. Ash and Max approached with extreme caution.

"Take it easy, Skarmory," Max tried to ease. Skarmory shot a glare at the two, jumping them back. Suddenly seeing Max, Skarmory calmed to allow them to treat it. Why would it allow complete strangers to help it out?

"I could be wrong but I think Skarmory remembers Max," May guessed. Brock was thinking the same thing with a possible reason.

"Maybe it's one that Prof. Birch knows," he theorized. Suddenly, Skarmory looked up into the tree, making Ash peer up as well. Something was definitely up there.

"I'll go up there and take a look," he offered. The rest didn't like the idea of Ash climbing the tree.

"But what about your stomachache?" May asked in concern. Ash wasn't as worried about his own health.

"I climbed over fences with worse." Proving so, he made his way up the tree. Wading his way through the branches, he looked around when...

"A-Ash?" a voice called out. One turn found a lavender-haired female cradled amongst some of the branches.

"Winona!" Swinging through the tree, Ash reached Winona in mere seconds. That's when he spotted her arm was clutched. "You okay?" Her paining groan was worse than Ash.

"I think I totaled my arm. It hurts." A broken arm? Ash had to think fast.

"I'll be right back." He scaled from branch to branch back down the tree before sticking his head out. The others saw Ash pop out.

"Ash, did you find anything?" May questioned. Ash nodded but he needed something else.

"Max, go into my bag and fish out my clothesline rope. Brock, can you toss me a couple wood planks?"

"I can, but why?"

"It's Winona! She's injured!" Gasps echoed from the others. Brock snagged some boards while Max snatched the rope from Ash's bag. Quickly, Brock took the rope from Max and tied the boards together to make it easier for Ash to carry. Handed the boards and rope, Ash returned to Winona and began triage treatment. "Is it above or below the elbow?"

"Below," she winced. The forearm. Fighting the stomachache, Ash put a couple planks above and below the injured area, attempting to create a splint.

"So how did you and Skarmory crash?" Winona awed Ash's first-aid treatment that she nearly didn't hear him.

"I was training with Skarmory when we were caught in a downdraft. It hit us so quickly, I didn't have a chance to brace for it and lost my hold onto Skarmory as I fell into here. Skarmory tried to catch me but the turbulence blew it off course. By the way, how's Skarmory?" Ash began wrapping her arm and planks with the rope.

"It's got a bent wing and may need to be sent to the Pokémon Center." While Ash was applying the finishing touches, neither of the two were aware of the branch's stress fracture. "That should do it." Winona was astounded with Ash's snap work.

"When did you learn first-aid?"

"Saw an episode on survival skills while preparing for the Indigo Tournament." Ash was prepared. SNAP! The branch broke and both fell from the tree. The yells stoked Skarmory, Grovyle and Combusken to race for the two. The group collided in a big pile and Winona's helmet went flying off.

"Ash!" the rest shouted in concern. When the dust cleared, Ash was hanging onto Winona...who had to have the worst case of hat hair in the world as they were on top of Skarmory. Or could we call it helmet hair?

"Is everyone okay?" May wondered. As she got closer, there was a horrific stench. It was so bad, even Skarmory couldn't stand it. Noses were covered with hands, not just fingers.

"Puke City!" Max whined. The cause: Ash fell stomach first onto her knees. It was too late for the raven-haired trainer from Pallet Town. He passed out. After everyone was separated, and Ash regaining consciousness after his vomiting spray, Brock and Max continued to treat Skarmory as Ash's stomach desired some of that stew. However, he became a gentleman and allowed the Fortree City Gym Leader to get something to eat. Acting as a table, Ash offered his back for Winona to use as a substitute for her injured arm. He was still feeling sick to his...you know. Torkoal and Mudkip cleaned the vomit by burning and spraying the stink away. There was a bright side: Ash was on Winona's lap.

"You feeling any better?" she asked.

"Well, my stomachache doesn't hurt as much," Ash murmured. "Of course, you can blame it on May for her attempt on breakfast." While true, he does still need to take care of that puke breath. Fortunately, May came over with something to wash the mouthy odor.

"Here you go, Ash," she offered. "Tea with Peppermint and Sitrus Berry juice. Should take out the puke breath...and my apology for the botched breakfast." Ash wasted no time to quench the tea down...and it was actually pretty good.

"I needed that. By the way, how's Skarmory's wing?" One look at Skarmory and it's wing looked as straight as it could be.

"Brock did manage to bend back the wing as best he could but...he said that it's still safe for it not to fly and instead get it to a Pokémon Center ASAP." Nothing more they could do.

"I guess we can rest until tomorrow," Winona suggested. It was a significant defeat but no one was too concerned. Night fell and all fell quickly asleep...except for the maiden of the sky who seemed to have been doubting herself. 'I was overconfident today. Everyday I train with my flying Pokémon, I always perform my prayer for great weather to aid. I didn't think that passing the prayer would lead to my accident.' By forgoing her daily prayer, she put herself at risk of injury. 'Why did I drop my prayer?' She then looked to Ash...with second thoughts. 'Then again, maybe the accident did give me something else. Ever since Ash impressed me with his Pokémon skills, I wanted to know more about how he does it. Using Grovyle to stop Altaria and his Swellow to shut down my Aerial Ace...' She rose up and got to Ash's sleeping bag, adjacent to Pikachu's. She removed her helmet and let the wild lavender hair fly. Still with that good arm, she managed to open the bag a little before snuggling herself with Ash, hoping for her sake that he's still wearing pants. Winona was now face-to-face with Ash, his sleepy warmth feeling pleasurable to her. Instantly, she fell asleep, her lips nuzzled by his. The morning rose where Ash's friends were waking up. Their plan was to get to the next town so that Winona and Skarmory would get additional treatment. Max got to Ash's bag when he got a shock that wasn't provided by Pikachu. He was just as surprised.

"Whoa!" Max yelped. Hearing that prompted May and Brock to check out...Winona's hair covering her and Ash's heads. How long was her hair? Pikachu used his tail to brush the hair as May and Brock arrived to the sight...where they set their faces to stun. Despite the splint, Winona was so comfortable sleeping with Ash that she locked lips with him. The group freaked out. Max and Pikachu were surprised that Ash had Winona in his bag. May and Brock were jealous. Did Ash have feelings for Winona or was it the other way around? Either or, they disapproved. They reached to pull Ash away but Max did the work...by pulling his big sister and the breeder from the trainer and gym leader. Did Max approve of the scene?

("Thanks, Max,") Pikachu acknowledged. He watched on as both sleeping occupants smiled. Soon, Winona would be in a hospital to get her arm treated. Right now, emotional treatment seemed to be in effect...and she didn't want to remove herself from this "medication."

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><p>END of FLYING<br>(That's 1/3 of the 12 Elements. The next chapter could revolve around either GRASS or WATER. Keep your votes coming.)


	5. Cerulean Splash

A/N: Thanks to your votes here and on Facebook, you've chosen WATER

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><p>Shipping: PinkLeagueShipping<p>

_One-shot 5:Cerulean Splash_

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><p>This was an unusual visit by Ash and Pikachu at the Cerulean City Gym. They entered the gym enriched by pools and fish tanks for the water Pokémon. They found their way into the Gym's Office where Daisy, Lily, Violet and Misty were having a sisterly discussion. "Hey!" he announced. The ladies turned to the lone boy. Needless to say how jaw-dropped surprised they were.<p>

"Ash!" they gasped. Togepi, always with Misty, was ecstatic to see Pikachu again.

"Ash, I heard from your mom that you're on your way to the Hoenn Region!" Misty recalled. Ash knew what Misty meant and flashed the tickets.

"Thought I'd hang out for a couple days before the boat ride to Hoenn gets here," he answered back. He was leaving from the Cerulean docks. It made a lot more sense to why he's here.

"Hey, you're more than welcome to stop by, Ash," Daisy the blond accepted. "We've got a week before we three leave Misty to run the Gym."

"Yeah, vacation!" Lily the pink-haired cheered on. Ash chuckled a sigh, humbled by the energy of the second youngest of the sisters.

"Settle, Lily!" Violet tried to relax her other sibling. "Don't burn yourself out before we reach the beach house."

"Come on, Violet! All I need is a good rest and I can burn as much as I like!" Ash, Misty and the other Pokémon sighed at the elder sisters' rather cherubic arguments.

"If this is what siblings do when they're alone, I can only imagine how Brock deals with his brothers and sisters," Ash huffed. Misty remembered the siblings back in Pewter City.

"How...many siblings does Brock have?" Violet asked. One sweat-dropping sigh told the girls the number was...pretty significant.

"20!" he and Misty muttered in unison. The sisters gulped in shock.

"How can one family produce _that_ many kids?" Lily gasped a question. This question was one neither Ash or youngest Waterflower would dare answer.

"Maybe I should use part of this vacation to babysit some of those kids," Daisy offered. "It would be nice to understand the hardships of being a parent." Misty knew what it was like to be a parent, though with a Pokémon as a substitute.

"It's a handful, let me tell you," Misty murmured. The girls figured that the redhead was referring to Togepi.

"Misty, we love you to death but raising a child isn't the same as raising a Togepi." The other two girls shared a giggle and even Togepi and Pikachu had to laugh. Life had to be tough for Misty being the youngest of four sisters. "Ash, there's a spare bedroom next to Misty's room you can borrow before your ferry arrives." He was a guest. Togepi became ecstatic that Pikachu was staying over. Ash was just happy to be sheltered by a friend. In the spare room, Ash placed his bag down and put his new hat on a hanger by the window, then his new sweat-tee, exposing a new black t-shirt fitted with a tiny yellow stripe across the chest.

"Togepi was excited to see you, huh Pikachu?" Ash teased.

("Well, a lot more than Misty seeing you,") Pikachu countered. Oh boy! Ash couldn't bring out a comeback to that. Ash stepped out of the room with Pikachu and made his way around the swimming pools. All sorts of Water Pokémon swam around each tank...including...

"Hey, is that a Gyarados?" The Gyarados was sleeping at the bottom of the giant pool. It would be better to leave it alone. "When did they get a Gyarados?" Lily came in to answer that question.

"It was actually one of our Magikarp," she replied. It made sense. Magikarp do evolve into Gyarados. That's when her face shifted to sadness. "But that Gyarados...or Magikarp was the black Mareep of the school. None of the other Magikarp wanted to play with it and they also took it's share of Pokémon food. Why they behaved like that, we don't know." It was unusual for Magikarp to behave like that, especially with one of their own. Even Ash thought it was puzzling. However, he knew that not all Pokémon were similar because of their species or types.

"Well, not all Magikarp are alike. Some of them are vicious, some even too shy to swim. It's like Misty's Psyduck and the other Psyduck around the world." Lily had to be wondering what Ash meant by that.

"How so?" Almost like it was cued, Psyduck appeared waddling by the edge of the pool. To Ash, this wasn't good. Psyduck couldn't swim. Ironic when you know that Psyduck is a Water-Type Pokémon. Out of nowhere, Corsola burst out of one pool in an effort to soar from one tank into another...with Psyduck in its cross-hairs. BAM! Psyduck took a full speed Tackle from Corsola, knocking the Duck Pokémon into the water and the Coral Pokémon landed just short onto the walkway. Psyduck panicked and flailed in the pool, unable to swim. That splashing stirred Gyarados awake...and it wasn't too happy about being awake. It rose out of the water, launching Psyduck into Ash's arms. The foursome looked up in fear of the grouchy serpent. Pikachu summoned his courage and showed his sparks. Gyarados backed a little, not wanting to take an electric attack. Suddenly, it heard something...and slowly drifted back down to the bottom of the pool. Finally, it fell back to sleep. The four breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that it didn't use force to neutralize the beast in the pool.

"Who woke Gyarados?" Violet asked as she entered the room. Neither of the humans would answer immediately. Violet was getting impatient. "Well?" Finally, Psyduck "psy"ed in guilt. It forced Ash to reply.

"Corsola accidentally knocked Psyduck into the pool," he reasoned. "Psyduck's flailing must have awakened Gyarados." Violet sighed. Was she warned about some of Misty's Pokémon?

"When Misty told me about Psyduck, I didn't wanna believe it. How is it that a Water Pokémon can't swim?" It was a mystery. Psyduck sighed in defeat. Ash couldn't hold back on humiliating Psyduck more.

"I highly doubt you could get Psyduck into a pool three inches deep." Hearing about another pool freaked Psyduck out, struggling not to go into another pool. It was sad to see.

"I think there's some floaters that Psyduck can try out." That had Psyduck to stop flailing around. "Come here, Psyduck!" Psyduck leaped from Ash's arms and followed Violet out. Finally, Ash focused back to Gyarados.

"So Magikarp evolved out of being ignored and couldn't hold back it's frustration." Lily nodded to confirm Ash's thoughts. "Reminds me of the red Gyarados back in Mahogany Town." Lily gasped in surprise.

"You were there?" It was Ash's turn to nod. "I saw it on the news about a rampaging red Gyarados. I wasn't aware that you and Misty had any involvement. Why would that Gyarados go berserk like that?"

"Easy. Team Rocket had a machine which forced a Magikarp to evolve into Gyarados. They had it rounded up a couple times but we did help break it free. Finally, Lance was able to capture it, promising us that it would take care of Gyarados." Lily was clued in.

"I get it now. I cannot forgive Team Rocket for forcing it's evolution of an innocent Pokémon." Ash bobbed again. "However, forcing evolution and being forced to evolve, it never comes up good. When this Gyarados evolved, the other Magikarp were afraid and couldn't face the one it tormented. I wanna say they got what they deserve...but even I think it's gone a bit far. Not only the Magikarp but any Pokémon that comes close. That's why we have a low-frequency lullaby to calm Gyarados down."

"A lullaby in the water that only Pokémon can hear." Lily agreed.

"We've also taken extra precaution in sealing off this area." Hearing that, Ash looked to where he came from, not seeing a sign to stay away from Gyarados' tank.

"If you did, you missed a spot." Lily looked back and saw the entrance without a sign. She patted herself in the head in regard of missing that. Both had gone to the storage closet and snagged a "KEEP OUT" sign with chains. After hanging it up, the rest of the day went ordinary. They ate and had gone to sleep. During the night, a roar woke Ash. The roar of Gyarados. He raced to the restricted area to see Gyarados thrashing around, trying to escape from it's tank. That's when Ash saw something which helped why Gyarados was loudly snarling: a tear. Gyarados was in pain. Something was irritating the Atrocious Pokémon. "Gyarados, calm down!" Gyarados wasn't listening. It continued to angrily bellow. Ash knew the only way was to find out what was hurting the Water Pokémon: a close contact search. Ash took a deep breath before jumping into the pool. Risky! Lily arrived too late to warn Ash as it flailed wildly in agony. When Ash snagged the scales, Gyarados stopped it's flail and looked down into the water.

"Someone's in the pool with Gyarados!" Lily concluded as she got poolside. Gyarados dove its head back in, hoping that it's face would scare off Ash.

'Gotta remember how Bruno did it.' He climbed down Gyarados' body, searching for it's irritation. That's when something pink was spotted. He dug around the part of Gyarados' body as the head was within an arm's reach. Ash was so focused on the pink, he didn't realize that the head of it all was right there. With one tug, Ash pulled a pink heart-shape creature from between the flaps of the skin with it's eyes swirling. It got thrashed around so much, it lost consciousness. When it got pulled out, Gyarados stopped it's struggling and eased. It also was curious as to why that creature was in it's flaps. Seeing a steady Gyarados, Ash swam up and petted it. Gyarados actually liked it. When they rose to the surface, Ash took a great breath of fresh air. Gyarados helped Ash to poolside where Lily helped Ash up out of the pool.

"What in the world were you thinking? Pikachu could have been without his owner!" She's being harsh. Then again, Ash was being reckless as always.

"Check this out!" He revealed the Pokémon that was trapped. Lily was stunned.

"What kind of Pokémon is that?" Ash had no clue.

"You're asking me. Even if I had my PokéDex, I highly doubt it would register." He did have an interesting theory. "It's possible it came from the Hoenn Region and wanted a place to swim around." Lily wanted to agree. "Hey, Gyarados! You feeling okay?" Gyarados roared happily. Suddenly, the heart-shape Pokémon woke from it's ordeal.

"Hey, it's awake!" That's a relief. The bewildered Pokémon looked at the two. "How are you doing?" The Pokémon wasn't sure what to think. The time trapped within Gyarados really messed it up.

"Bells must still be ringing, huh?" Finally, it sprung up and floated in midair. "There ya go!" Suddenly, it flew around Lily and Ash cheerfully. This was unusual behavior. "What do you think it's doing?" This was a new Pokémon so neither one knew what to expect.

"You're asking me." That's when the Pokémon rammed into the back of Lily's head, propelling her right into Ash. All three were knocked into the water but let's take a slow-motion replay. When Lily was launched at Ash, the two accidentally kissed. Did the Pokémon force the kiss? The next morning, Pikachu woke up...and found Ash missing. It's loud squeak woke Misty who stormed into the spare room.

"Pikachu?" she called. Seeing no Ash, she feared something was wrong. "Ash!" She searched around the gym: the battlefield, the locker room, the shower, the ladies' bathroom... She dealt with a lovelorn Brock, she's taking no chances.

"Misty!" Daisy called out. Misty turned to the shout, eying her two eldest sisters. "Lily's missing!" Misty's eyes shot open in concern. Ash and Lily were gone.

"That's two! Ash's missing as well!" The sisters were worried. Were they kidnapped?

"Is there anyplace you haven't look yet?" Violet wondered.

"The Pokémon's pools for one!" The "Sisters of the Soaked Swimsuits" reached the pool and were in for an eye-popping sight with Pikachu. They found Ash and Lily swimming with Gyarados and the mysterious Pokémon. The four were really having a great time. While they were relieved to see that Ash and Lily were just fine, they were still a bit weary. Was it Gyarados? The mysterious Pokémon?

"Well, it's awesome to see that Gyarados is happy," Daisy huffed a snicker. She's be losing that snicker pretty soon. Lily swooped down and locked lips. Lily's sisters were downright shocked...even Pikachu felt paralyzed. It would soon be apparent that the sisters were fuming with jealousy. "Lily, I'm the first-born! I should be falling in love before anyone else, even you!" What, she wanted Ash? Sure the sisters were upset about one of their own getting lucky with a boy. The other three should know that there were other Magikarp in the sea. The pool's Magikarp, on the other hand... They ain't messing with what was formally one of their own. Hope floats but in this case, love is swimmingly.

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><p>END of WATER<br>(Alright, there's still 7 more in this edition, including a special cameo from the jolly man. Keep those votes up. It looks like GRASS is the next to be written but still keep those votes coming.)


	6. Who's the Little Kid, Now?

A/N: In a tiebreaker, ICE is next. It's also the halfway mark.

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><p>Shipping: ConfidenceShipper<p>

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><p><em>One-Shot 6: Who's the Little Kid, Now?<em>

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><p>"He's such a little kid!" Ever since arriving in the Unova Region... "What a little kid!" No matter what he did... "Don't be such a kid!" Ash was getting very little respect from his new traveling partner, Iris. "You mean you didn't know? What a kid!" Even with Cilan traveling by him, the irritation of Iris' flaky teasing mounted. It was so frustrating, he could swear Iris was still talking "kid" trash. When he traveled with Misty, all she griped about was the destruction to her bike. With May and Dawn, there wasn't so much of an issue other than getting lost at time to time. Why would Iris be the bane of his good nature? He huddled by a lake without Pikachu by his side. It was the middle of the night with a bright moon hanging overhead in the sky. Flocks of Swanna sleeping on the lake were more eased than Ash. He could do something to vent the frustration but the Swanna were better left undisturbed. Probably a lesson from when a flock of Spearow attacked him. He chose to walk and leave the Swanna alone. He was now farther away from the campsite as he sat by a tree. Soon enough, his eyelids weighed a ton. Then, he fell fast asleep...<p>

"Get your hand off of me!" shouted an angered female. Ash didn't hear her. He also didn't know that his hand was resting on a gloved hand. That hand was swiped from Ash's before she stood and faced him...only to be disgusted. "If it isn't that boy who hangs out with the Dragon Girl. If he's here, Iris can't be far off." That's when she studied Ash, humored at the look as he snoozed. "I guess I can admit that he sleeps adorably for a boy." She knelt down and cupped his chin. "I doubt Dragon Girl had a chance to enjoy this visitor. Sucks to be her." She leaned in and gave Ash a great smooch. Ash didn't wake from that kiss. She licked her lips, tasting those of Ash's. "Oh, yeah. She's missing out on the romance." She returned and this time, she didn't want to let go. Guess she never had a boy she actually liked. Maybe this was victory against Iris. The next morning, Cilan was making breakfast for the younger two and the Pokémon. As Pikachu got up, there was no Ash anywhere.

("Ash?") the Electric Mouse Pokémon wondered. Axew heard the cry of the foreign Pokémon, followed by it's owner, stoking them awake.

"Pikachu, what's wrong?" Iris wondered. Axew was a little concerned itself.

("Ash is missing!") That news didn't deter Cilan too much.

"Don't sweat about it, Pikachu," the Pokémon Connoisseur comforted with words. "Perhaps he left for firewood. I mean, I could use some since I'm out of portable fuel to light something." Pikachu would calm down but Pikachu pointed to Ash's jacket, fingerless gloves and Pokéball belt. Did Pikachu say that he wouldn't just recklessly leave his equipment behind like that? Iris believed it was something else.

"You know, it's rare for Ash to just leave Pikachu behind without telling him," she figured. Cilan realized Iris' point.

"Yeah, it does taste rather bitter for Ash to just get up and leave without Pikachu by his side. You don't suppose those rotten apples of Team Rocket kidnapped him and held him for Pikachu as ransom, do you?" Iris didn't want to agree.

"They may be bad guys but for them to stoop that low just doesn't sound right." They didn't know that Ash was just a few football fields away snoozing with someone over him like a blanket. Ash began to stir. As he woke, his mouth felt...like it wasn't there. His lips were numb. That girl did more than take his breath away, should he have been awake for it.

'Why do my lips feel so numb?' he wondered in thought. Ash, take a look down. Boom! That got Ash to jump a little in some surprise. It also made Ash curious. 'Georgia? Why is she on me? Does she wanna challenge Iris...or me in that matter?' Using his free hand, he stretched his lips to get feeling. That's when two of Ash's Pokémon found Ash and Georgia: Pikachu and Scraggy. They were happy to see Ash but when they saw Georgia, Pikachu was afraid to approach. She could be pretty ruthless. Scraggy ran up to Headbutt Georgia until he saw Ash shake his head no.

("Why would Georgia be with Ash?") Pikachu wondered. Hearing Pikachu woke Georgia from her snooze. She looked to find Pikachu and Scraggy hanging back while she remained on Ash.

"Morning," she yawningly greeted. Ash nodded, unable to speak from his numb lips. Georgia was a little suspicious about the silent treatment. "You okay?" Ash pointed to his mouth, saying that he couldn't move it properly. "Whoops! Guess I went a little overboard." She's speaking fine. Pikachu and Scraggy were curious about how Ash's lips were practically frozen.

("What did you do, Georgia?") The cheeks reddened from the Dragon Buster. To Ash and Pikachu, this was a new side of Georgia. Ash managed to stretch his lips enough for them to start operating.

"Okay, got it to move again," he finally spoke. "Felt like some sort of warm ice covered my mouth." Warm ice? Oxymoron, there had to be something silly coming from Ash's mouth.

"Say, Ash," Georgia spoke. "Were you...were you ever kissed on the lips?" Ash thought back to his earlier adventures. Was he ever kissed?

"I was kissed twice." Georgia feared that maybe Ash's lips weren't untouched. "But they're on the cheek, not on the lips." That information had Georgia sighing in relief.

"So I did take those virgin lips. Had me going for a while." Now it was Ash who seemed disturbed by Georgia's behavior.

"Who are you and what have you done with Georgia?" Georgia was expecting Ash to act that way to her altered form.

"I only act like that in front of trainers with Dragon Pokémon. Anyone else, I'm not so hard. So you know why I act the way I do in front of that Dragon Girl." Ash showed some panic. He remembered that he had a Gible back in Prof. Oak's ranch, possibly still working on and scaring the other Pokémon with his Draco Meteor. That's a move only known to be used by Dragon Pokémon and Gible's a Dragon Pokémon. "You wouldn't know any Dragon trainers besides her, would you?" Ash had run into all sorts of trainers and gym leaders who have Dragon-Types.

"I know plenty but the toughest one's in Sinnoh. Mainly the champion, Cynthia and her Garchomp." To Georgia, that's a challenge. Pikachu and Scraggy did a disappearing and reappearing act grabbing fruit. Scraggy used the molted skin as a flexible basket and had grapes in it. Rather convenient of the Shedding Pokémon to use it's body like that. Scraggy put two apples onto each of Pikachu's ears as he offered Ash the grapes. Ash happily obliged. "Thanks, Scraggy." That's when Georgia had a question pop in her head.

"So, sorry about the way I acted back at the Battle Club Tournament. I just did it to make sure Dragon Girl think I wasn't weak. Truth is, you're better than I think I and Iris would take credit combined." That was real thoughtful.

"Hey, don't sweat it. I heard worse on my friends." That had the Buster busting a laugh.

"Any who, why do you hang around with her and that Connoisseur?" Ash remembered why Cilan offered his services but had to think harder on why Iris joined.

"Well, Cilan was interested in my battle techniques. He's wanting every 'recipe' that I can serve. He's also acting as a personal chef like with Brock on a few journeys. To be honest, I don't really remember why Iris is with me. I did apologize to her after I threw a Pokéball at her." Georgia, bursting with laughter, puzzled together why Iris was with Ash.

"I get it! I actually get it!" What did she get? "I remember that she constantly calls you a little kid, right?" Ash bobbed a nod to that finding. "She's looking for someone to lay blame for her mistakes instead of her. You ask me, she's more of a little kid than you." To Ash, Georgia had a plan to scare Iris.

"What's your idea?" Georgia looked to Pikachu for the idea.

"Say, Pikachu! Wanna help?" Pikachu was interested to know the scheme...or maybe he didn't want to hurt Iris. Back at the campsite, Cilan was just about done with breakfast. Iris was starting to get concerned for Ash and the Pokémon.

"Where could they have gone to?" she wondered. "It wouldn't be like him to simply miss breakfast." Cilan wasn't as worried.

"One whiff of my newly created mixed-berry skillet should have Ash dashing back here," he hoped. "It shouldn't take too long now." If there was one thing to lure Ash, it would be food.

"The least he could have done was leave a note. What a little kid!" There she went again. Suddenly, a roar. The two and Axew heard it, believing it was close. "What was that?" Before anyone had a thought, a Beartic jumped out from the shrubs, roaring frantically. The group got frightened real bad.

"Beartic!" Cilan managed to straighten himself out but Iris hightailed it up a tree. Good thing because it spotted the girl from the Village of Dragons.

"Stop, Beartic!" Ash shouted as he, Pikachu and Scraggy leaped in Beartic's path. Beartic roared angrily about being cutoff. "Scraggy, Hi Jump Kick!" Scraggy leaped into the air with a blazing foot. It caught Beartic between the icicles on the snout, flinging Beartic back. Scraggy was high in the air. Hey, they didn't call the attack "Hi Jump Kick" for nothing. "Come on down and follow it up with Headbutt!" Before Scraggy had time to adjust, Beartic breathed out icicles at Ash and Pikachu.

"Ash!" Iris and Cilan screamed together in fear. Ash knew what to do.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Pikachu turned his tail into steel before swinging it, chipping one icicle which began knocking away every icicle which came Ash's way. Beartic acted stunned. Yes, acted. This was staged.

* * *

><p><em>(Flashback)<em>

_Georgia summoned the "rampaging" Beartic in front of Ash and his Pokémon. Her plan involved the Freezing Pokémon. "She has that fear with Ice-Types since she knows they're super effective against Dragon-Types," she recalled. "So...seeing a berserk Beartic will have her climbing a tree and protecting that Axew. Give it a few seconds before coming in and saving her. If it works, she'll greet you with more respect and bravery. Otherwise, you can nag her about being unable to face it herself." Ash was enjoying this plan more than Iris offering her services to accompany him and Cilan._

"_This is gonna work for sure," Ash grinned. "Beartic, I may hurt you a little bit. Are you ready to go through with it?" Beartic growled, ready to perform._

"_Pikachu, Scraggy, ready to help out?" Ash's Pokémon were also set. "Alright. Beartic, lead the way."_

* * *

><p>Scraggy dove down and nailed Beartic with a "heavy" Headbutt. That "blow" bent Beartic forward, hitting the ground. It wasn't moving. Was that it? Ash approached Beartic "cautiously" while Iris and Cilan watched. "Great acting, Beartic," he whispered proudly to the "wild" Pokémon. "That went perfectly." Beartic opened his eye to Ash before a wink back and forth. Iris began to climb down as Beartic regained his feet and hobbled away while Cilan tried to picture how Scraggy, being so small, was able to defeat something multiple times his size. It didn't really make sense.<p>

"That was a battle recipe I don't really get," he reviewed. Uh oh! Didn't really count on the Pokémon Connoisseur to suspect anything. As soon as Cilan was in earshot, Ash lassoed him to his ear.

"This was suppose to scare Iris," he informed. "Georgia and I had a plan about it." Now Cilan got the recipe...and went to "Acting Time."

"Wow! That's how it's sauteed! You're far better than I had imagined. Unova has nothing compared to you!" When Iris met up with the boys, did you really think she'd be grateful for Ash protecting her and the boy in the waiter's suit?

"Where the heck were you?" she snapped. Well...it was a nice effort.

"What?" Ash hiccuped. "Not a thank you for saving your life?" Why the cold shoulder, Iris?

"If you had stayed near camp like you should have been, we wouldn't have been in danger! Honestly, you're such a kid!" Habits die hard. However... Ash snickered, predicting her mentioning.

"I'm the kid? If I recall, I didn't scale a tree to escape Beartic's attacks, let alone just appearing. I bet you couldn't stand up to a Swinub if it came around the corner." Ouch! The jabs hurt Iris and Cilan became a tag team partner.

"He has a point there, Iris," he added. "How are you gonna be a great Dragon Master if you're so busy climbing trees from even an ice cube?" Iris couldn't believe that Cilan was actually siding with Ash. She screamed before stomping off, looking for something to vent her frustration. Cilan felt a little guilty about Iris running off like that, even leaving behind Axew and her Pokémon. "Could you keep an eye on the Pokémon until we get back?" Ash nodded to let Cilan tend to Iris as Georgia reemerged.

"She still can't face the truth, huh?" she teased as she snagged Ash's hand. Ash didn't mind.

"Nope," he plainly replied. Truth hurts. Sometimes, that's a good thing.

* * *

><p>END of ICE<p>

(Wow, halfway there. Keep the votes coming. GRASS may finally come but that will depend on the voting.)


	7. Sweetwalking

A/N: We start the second half with GRASS as voted by you.  
>Shipping: PokéSilverShipper<p>

* * *

><p><em>One-shot 7: Sweet-Walking<em>

* * *

><p>Ash was back home in Pallet Town with Pikachu by his side. His Top Four finish was his best finish from the Lilly of the Valley Conference. He beat Nando, then Conway and beat his Sinnoh rival, Paul. His run ended against Tobias in the Semifinals. Finally, he returned to Pallet Town, back from Sinnoh and here in Kanto. "Check it out, Pikachu!" he huffed in relief. "We're back home." Pikachu was happy to be in Pallet, much to his disappointment that Brock or Dawn wouldn't join. To Ash, this was just a pit stop before going on a new adventure. As soon as he entered town, a call rang out. It was a chirping...of a Chikorita? The two turned to spotted the Leaf Pokémon coming their direction. "Chikorita?" Chikorita paw-pumped the air. "Why are you here? Did you not like Prof. Elm's lab?" Instead of answering, Chikorita led Ash and Pikachu all the way into Pallet Town and to Prof. Oak's lab. Why here?<p>

"Help!" screamed a familiar male voice. Ash knew who it was.

"Khoury?" A thundering stampede shook the plains, making Ash find his herd of Tauros. The 30 of Ash's Wild Bull Pokémon ran wildly through the ranch, nearly running down any Pokémon in their path. That's when he spotted Khoury on one of the Tauros. "Hang on, Khoury!" What else could he do at the moment? Pray? "Torterra, I choose you!" Ash tossed his Pokéball and released the Continent Pokémon who roared. Either he timed it well or very badly because here came the Tauros! "Torterra, Rock Climb!" Torterra stomped on the ground, forcing pillars of earth to rise. The Tauros slammed into the pillars...which none fell. The pillars sunk back down into the earth and Ash raced to check up on his herd...and Khoury. "Is everyone all right?" Some of the Wild Bull Pokémon were out but the rest stood back on their hooves. Khoury was back on his feet and came to greet the hometown trainer.

"Thanks a lot, Ash! I didn't know what to do!" He panicked. Nothing to be ashamed about.

"Don't mention it. They go out and run wherever they like." That's when he wondered what happened that made the Tauros want to give Khoury an unneeded lift.

"It's my fault. Gible was getting some training for when we journey through the Orange Islands." Ash remembered the Orange Islands. It wasn't like a vacation since he dealt with the Orange Crew.

"I know what it's like down in the Orange Archipelago. You and Lyra are heading down there?"

"Nah, just me. I'm just heading there alone with Dad to attend a Breeder's Convention over on Navel Island. I invited Lyra but..." A frown told Ash that Lyra didn't want to go to the Archipelago. "She hasn't been feeling good and I've been stumped about what's ailing her." Lyra's sick. Ash had to know what made her feel under the weather.

"Is she in the lab?"

"No, she's at your house. Dad and your mom are watching over her. I just came over here to let Lyra rest." That was quite thoughtful. Ash and Pikachu decided to leave Torterra to Khoury as he headed for his house where Delia watched for her son. And here he came home.

"Ash!" she called. "You should be quiet walking in."

"Yeah, Khoury already told me," he replied as he and his Electric Mouse Pokémon entered. They and the mom saw Khoury's dad slumped on a sofa. Lyra was on a couch with a blanket over her entire body and a moist towel over her forehead. "What do we know?" Khoury's dad didn't appear to have much of an answer.

"Well, I wanna say she's got a bit of a fever and that's it," the father shrugged. "We took her to see a doctor but even he's stumped." Baffling. Not only did Khoury not know what's wrong with Lyra, no doctor had a way to treat her. All they could do was let her rest. "Maybe you know why Lyra's sick, do you?" Like Ash knew?

"Wish I could say. Then again, this isn't the same as taking care of a Pokémon." They needed a clarification when Lyra opened her eyes.

"A...Ash?" she weakly murmured. Hearing Lyra, Ash and the adults were alerted.

"Lyra!" the dad gasped as they huddled around her. Her eyes only focused on Ash.

"How's...how is Dane?" Ash knew that Lyra called Dawn by Dane. "Is she here?" Ash shook his head, no.

"She's back in Sinnoh," he replied. Lyra softly giggled, wary of her depleted health.

"Lyra, we were so worried about you!" Khoury's dad expressed. Unaware of her condition, she rose up.

"Whoa, take it easy!" Delia warned. Only then did she suffer weakness and fell back. Ash reapplied the wet towel onto Lyra's forehead, trying to ease any heat she's suffering.

"You shouldn't push yourself," Ash warned. Lyra sighed in defeat...without having to send out a Pokémon.

"I'm sorry," she whined. "I...I didn't mean to ruin anyone's day." Ash placed a hand on the girl's shoulder for comfort.

"Just rest and relax, okay?" Lyra nodded. Lyra turned to Khoury's father.

"You and Khoury can go on without me. I'll be fine here with Ash." The dad wasn't sure about her offer to stay while the males headed off to the Orange Isles.

"Are you sure?" he questioned. Lyra flopped another nod. "Okay. I'll let Khoury know. He won't be happy to hear about you missing out. You take it easy." The father walked out to advise the altered plans. That left the mother and son to tend to the ill female.

"So other than your friend in Sinnoh, what happened to Brock?" Delia wondered. Ash remembered just after arriving back in the Kanto Region.

"Brock headed home and is right now studying to be a Pokémon Doctor," he answered. "It's safe and sad to say but I believe our journeying days are over." So no Dane, no Brock... Anyone else? "I was gonna meet up with Prof. Oak to see about any regions I can travel to." He had plans to go to other places. Lyra thought that if she felt well enough to travel, she could go with Ash anywhere he wanted to travel.

"Maybe I can come with," she offered. Ash and Delia were a bit surprised. "I mean, when I feel better." It was a keen suggestion.

"We'll figure it out when the time comes," Delia responded. Lyra understood. Right now, she just needed to relax. When evening came, Chikorita was back with Lyra and Bayleef joined too. Meantime, Ash and Pikachu were soaking in the tub. Ash was still having a hard thought of accepting Lyra as a new traveling partner.

"I don't know if we really wanna take Lyra for a trip," he doubted. "I mean, she and Khoury are great friends on their own."

("Why not take both of them?") Pikachu optioned. ("When Khoury gets back from the convention, we can all go on a journey together.") That wasn't a bad idea. Ash seemed to like where his little Pokémon buddy was thinking.

"Good idea. That way, we'll all have a great time wherever we go." Done washing up, Ash snagged a towel to dry himself. "Once I PJ myself, I'm gonna check on Lyra." Ash exited the bathroom, entered and changed to his pajamas and then headed down to meet up with Lyra. Lyra was awake, petting her Chikorita with Bayleef watching. "How are you feeling right now?" Lyra turned to Ash with a little more energy than earlier.

"Well, much better than this afternoon," she scoffed. "Got word that Khoury and his dad arrived safely at Navel Island for the convention." That's good to hear. "To be honest, I'm a little confused." How could you be confused about good news?

"What do you mean?"

"Well...I wanna say I'm happy that Khoury and his dad are okay...but I'm also happy to be back by your side again. I mean...I admired you back in Twinleaf Town during the Johto festival and I wanted to travel with you. I think the reason I'm so baffled is because I want to be happy with you but I don't wanna lose my friendship with Khoury." Her rampant thinking strolled right into Ash's conversation.

"I know a way to fix that." Lyra became intrigued. "When Khoury comes back, we can all go on a journey together." It was as if Ash read her mind. Lyra was amazed.

"That's not a bad plan. Of course, there's no Dane or Brock to help out." Ash fluffed his own nod, unable to aid out those two now. An hour after that brief meeting, Ash had entered dreamland. He was snoozing through the night. On the couch, Chikorita was waving the leaf on it's head, waffling Sweet Scent throughout the room...and Lyra was the only one with the Leaf Pokémon. The Sweet Scent was caught in the flow of the air vents which bounced upstairs and into Ash's room. Unconsciously, she sat up and made Chikorita tumbled to the floor, rudely waking it up. She stood up and began walking up the stairs. Chikorita wondered if Lyra was okay. She was sleepwalking. She walked the jarred door open and got to Ash who was lying on the floor. The door opened so quietly, Pikachu wasn't alerted from the bedside. Lyra appeared to be talking...but no noise was coming out. Yet she looked panicked. She slowly collapsed onto her hands and knees, never awake. Someone was in for a rude awakening. Pikachu's ears heard the soft thuds and woke, spotting the sleepwalking Lyra put her hand around a head-turning Ash. Was Lyra going to kiss him? Choke him? Chikorita wanted to prevent anything happening to its master or Ash. Turned out, it wasn't necessary. Lyra opened her eyes to see Ash sleeping right there. She shook her head, thinking he wouldn't mind a sleeping mate. Quietly, she unzipped the sleeping bag and scooted right in, snuggling herself next to the raven-haired she met over at the Johto Festival. Chikorita and Pikachu sighed, feeling that they overreacted to what could have been a serious situation. The caw of Dodrio signified the morning sun. Delia was on the phone with Khoury.

"Why didn't you tell us about her condition?" she gasped.

"I thought that if her Chikorita was in it's Pokéball, it wouldn't be a problem," Khoury explained. What problem? And did it have anything to do with the Leaf Pokémon's Sweet Scent?

"Guess maybe I should have helped put Chikorita back in it's ball to prevent it, huh?" So it _was_ the Sweet Scent? "Listen, be careful at that convention and we'll see you and your father back here in two days."

"We will. Take care, Mrs. Ketchum." Delia hung up and the Pokémon came down. Delia was happy to see them. "Good morning, Pikachu, Chikorita." The Pokémon greeted back to the mother. "I bet you're hungry. I did get your food ready before Khoury called me." The two feasted upon the pellets of food. Meantime, Lyra was waking to the rays of the sun and gazed at her sleeping mate.

'I don't want Khoury to join us,' she thought. 'I want to be you and me.' That's when she leaned down and...if this wasn't an indication that she was at full health, what else? It was like "Sleeping Beauty" with a role reversal. Feeling the kiss cutting off his air supply, Ash woke up and was surprised.

"LYRA?" he screeched with her tongue in his mouth. What kind of kiss was she doing to the poor Pallet Town's kid? Finally, Lyra broke away from Ash for him to breathe. Ash was stunned to see her in his bag, much less the kiss. "What are you doing in my bag?" Lyra blushed in some embarrassment.

"Sorry. I forgot to put Chikorita back into her ball. She has a tendency to sweep Sweet Scent when she sleeps...and when I get hit, I tend to sleepwalk to wherever that Sweet Scent goes." She follows Sweet Scent in her sleep. Pretty weird.

"Never knew you had an effect with Sweet Scent. Guess not everything is the same with humans in contact with Pokémon abilities." Lyra chuckled softly.

"Listen. I know Khoury's a great friend...but I want to be with you and you alone. I wanna be with you forever." She leaned down and gave Ash another kiss...this time more minded of how much air he could breathe. Ash didn't mind this and accepted the love check. Perhaps these two could be a great pair. By the way, Lyra...IT'S DAWN, NOT DANE!

* * *

><p>END of GRASS<br>(7 down, 5 to go. Keep those votes up, if only to break up the tie between NORMAL, and GROUND.)


	8. The Midnight Knight

A/N: By request, GROUND will be #8. And yes, Gilgar is part GROUND-Type  
>Shipping: SuperheroShipper<p>

_One-shot 8: The Midnight Knight_

* * *

><p>Look! Up in the night sky! Is it Pidgeot? Is it a Dragonite? No, it's the Pokémon Superhero...Gligarman? He appeared smaller than in the movies, looking more Megaman than Superman. Donned in a purple double horned helmet, purple jumpsuit and pincers for hands, a bat wing-like cape and purple boots, the tiny Gligarman with Pikachu and Gligar leaped bounds over gaps of buildings in the city. Was there something they were searching for? Stopping on the roof of the tallest building to rest, Gligarman waited for instructions. <strong>"Ash, can you hear me?"<strong> sounded Misty from the speaker in the helmet. Ash was Gligarman?

"Go ahead, Misty," he answered.

"**Mr. Parker has agreed to Team Rocket's demand that he turn himself and Gilgar over in exchange for Latoya. They told him that they'll be at the stadium."** Ash pondered about why the stadium for the exchange.

"Tell me they want an audience to see the revealing of Gligarman." Misty wasn't sure that was the case.

"**No, I think they want to cover their bases to prevent sneak attacks." **A wider array of view. Ash and the Pokémon had to exercise extraordinary caution if only to rescue Latoya. As Ash, Pikachu and Gligar resumed their pursuit, let's look back to earlier today.

* * *

><p><em>(Flashback)<em>

_Ash, Misty, Brock and their Pokémon friends were on the road toward the Johto League. There were no woods to get lost into and no tension between any of them. Sound, on the other hand... The call of Gligar had the group look up. Gligar swooped down and landed on Ash's head. "Whoa, Gligar!" Brock jumped. Gligar performed the Gligarman Pose: Arms spread wide out and a leg in the air, knee folded. Misty realized that this Gligar had a particular owner._

"_That's Mr. Parker's Gligar!" she gasped. That's when the roar of a high-powered motorcycle echoed through the relatively clear air. The purple motorcycle zipped into the scene with Mr. Parker on board._

"_Mr. Parker!" they shouted in unison. Once stopped, Mr. Parker turned to Ash._

"_Ash, I need your help!" he called. "It's Gligirl!" The three gasped, knowing Latoya was Gligirl._

"_Mr. Parker, what happened to Gligirl?" Brock wondered, ready to spring into action._

"_She was investigating activity in an apparently abandoned warehouse. When Gligar returned without her, I realized there was a problem. That's why we sought you, Ash." Ash, not Brock? Brock was a bit outraged._

"_Hold on! Why Ash? Why not me?" Mr. Parker had a quick answer for that._

"_Because my daughter had already rejected you." Ouch! Brock, realizing what occurred before, slumped into a fetal position, depressed._

"_That was a little harsh," Misty murmured. Togepi shrilled, enjoying the scene._

"_Let's get to my secret base. Ash, you hop on the back. Misty, Brock, take the sidecar." The group boarded the motorcycle with Pikachu joining Misty and Brock in the sidecar. They raced off and soon was back in the Gligarman HQ. There, Mr. Parker presented Ash with a smaller Gligarman costume than the one he wore. "This is a special suit designed with a utility belt and jet boots. They will not only help you jump higher but will also cushion falls. I wish there was time to train you but we don't have that luxury. You should be able to find all the equipment available for you." Ash knew this suit will help out in rescuing the young Gligirl._

"_Thanks, Mr. Parker," he accepted. He put the helmet on...but it felt loose. It wasn't really fitting him. He removed the helmet and knew that the headgear was a size big. That's when he had an idea. "Say, Mr. Parker? Do you by any chance have...?"_

* * *

><p>AshGligarman and the Pokémon reached the stadium. Staying on the structure's lip, the three observed the surrounding. That's when Gligar spotted Latoya, making Ash and Pikachu twist to her on the field. "Settle down, Gligar," Ash warned. "We need to plan accordingly. Pikachu, dive down into the seats until I give you the signal." Pikachu listened to Ash and sprung around the bowl, trying not to lead whoever was watching them. Ash and Gligar leaped from the rim all the way down to the barrier separating the battlefield and the seats. Those jet boots were helping. Latoya woke up, gagged and unable to speak. Suddenly, lights flashed on the stadium grounds. Gligar was spooked with all the lights flashing on at once. Three more lights flashed on, revealing Jessie, James and Meowth. The group wasn't appreciating a substitute for the real Gligarman.

"Where's Gligarman?" Jessie wanted. Ash glared at Jessie, knowing that he'd been had. Still, he tried to retain character.

"I'm Gligarman! I'm the one you want!" Team Rocket didn't believe him.

"Really?" James grunted. "The last I checked, he was pudgy and slower than Slowpoke. You're more Gligartwerp than Gligarman!" Ash just grinned at the group.

"Right. I am the protector of the unprotected! The defender of the undefended! I am the champion of rightous and sworn enemy of all that is evil everywhere! With Gligar at my side, I fight every foe of goodness! I am known far and wide as the superhero, Gligarman!" He performed the Gligarman pose with Gligar. The three laughed, not believing Ash.

"Prepare for trouble you little phony," Jessie called his bluff while starting the motto.

"Make it double and add some mayo with that baloney!" James added.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples from every nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach-" Latoya's muffled screeches broke James' concentration and the motto...and infuriated him. "Would you mind holding your peace until we're done?" That scared Latoya straight. She was tied up and defenseless. To Ash, they had their back turned to him as he snagged razor sharp blades in the shape of Gligar's wings from the belt and threw it. The blades zipped past Team Rocket and Latoya. What appeared to be a miss...it was on target in slicing the rope. Latoya ripped out of the restraints and tried to escape but Jessie and James snagged her.

"Let me go!" she screeched. Remember those blades? They're coming back. SMACK! Jessie and James were clocked by the return shot of the blades...dull side first. They knocked Team Rocket down and let Latoya reach Ash.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Latoya back on the good side, Ash was ready to stop Team Rocket.

"Pikachu's in the stands. Head there." Latoya retreated before Team Rocket, bruises on their faces, got on their feet.

"How dare you!" Jessie snarled angrily. "You do not use a weapon on unarmed bad guys!" Thanks for ridiculing yourselves. Ash would be ashamed but he had something to back himself.

"Self-defense. I used the Gligarangs to get the girl free." James wanted to agree.

"He does have a point, we did kidnap the girl to lure Gligarman," he reviewed. Jessie fumed at the backstabbing.

"Who's side are you on, James?" she snapped. Her yelling straightened James out.

"Okay, okay!" James snagged a remote and hit a button. That's when a giant Kakuna robot emerged from below the battlefield and Meowth leaped into the cockpit on the head.

"Let's see if the Super Twerp can stand up to the Kakuna Bot 2.0!" the Alley Cat Pokémon challenged. Scythe-like arms sprung forward and pointed to Ash and Gligar. It began to reveal light from the tips of the arms. Beams shot out at both human and Bat-Scorpion Pokémon who leaped high and clear from strike. Those boots had to be super charged. Not only did they escape death, they flipped and flew across the stadium. That impressed Team Rocket and Latoya. Ash whipped out a grappling hook and fired, latching onto the viewing window of the Kakuna Bot. The rapid descent with the grappling hook set Ash and Gligar with a diving kick.

"Gligar Kick!" Ash called. BAM! BAM! The kicks connected with so much force, the controls of the Kakuna Bot were scrambled and unable to control. The Kakuna Bot fell and nearly fell on Jessie and James who bailed out in time. The two were worried about their talking Pokémon.

"Meowth!" they yelled in unison. Meowth, battered after that fall, crawled out.

"I hate cartoon logic," he staggered. Ash and Gligar landed easily. Jessie wasn't about to throw in the towel.

"Arbok, let's go!" she called as she released her Cobra Pokémon. "Poison Sting!" Arbok fired stingers at the two.

"Gligar, Swift!" Ash commanded. Gligar fired stars from the pincers which struck each stinger. James wanted to help out.

"Victreebel, come on out!" he summoned. Out came the Flycatcher Pokémon...who latched onto Arbok. To James, it was odd. "Must be tasting Arbok for something good." Uh, James, there's something more important. "Victreebel, Vine Whip!" Victreebel released Arbok who had enough of the Flycatcher. It swung the vine out at Gligar. Gligar leaped to clear but was clocked and knocked down. Ash saw it, hoping Gligar would be okay. Jessie took advantage of the distraction.

"Wrap the hero, Arbok!" Jessie ordered. Arbok snared Ash with it's snake body. Gligar was reeling a bit as Jessie approached Ash. "Well, now. Let's see if we know who's under the mask." Jessie grabbed the helmet and yanked it off. When she did look, she was surprised. There was a mask...under the mask! Very clever, Ash! This mask was made out of a bandanna which still covered his hair and eyes. How's that for a surprise? Gligar flew back in and smacked Arbok into Jessie, bowling them down and freeing Ash.

"Thanks, Gligar," he praised. Gligar pincer-pumped the air. "Now to keep you in place. Thunderbolt!" Pikachu leaped out from the barrier and shot out it's Thunderbolt, shocking Team Rocket and the Kakuna Bot. KABLAM! A series of explosions rocked the stadium and sent Team Rocket into the air stunned figuratively and literally.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they yelled as they left the city. That was awesome.

"Alright!" The three cheered for the victory. And to add insult to injury... "Go...Gligar!" He and the Pokémon performed the pose for the win. Latoya came out and did her own Wrap attack. Okay, a hug.

"Thank you, Ash!" she cried in relief. She knelt down, removed the bandanna and gave Ash a kiss. Pikachu and Gligar enjoyed seeing this. Knowing how much she hugged and kissed him meant that she feared for her life. Latoya broke in time for Misty, Brock and her father to make sure everyone was okay. Over the next week, Mr. Parker began to do new comics including a new storyline of Gligarman...and his new apprentice, Little Glide which was like a smaller Gligarman with the bandanna instead of the pointy ears. Outside, Ash and Latoya posed in the Gligirl and Little Glide costumes. Brock and Pikachu actually liked the new look for Ash. Misty? Not so much.

"If you ask me, Ash, the Little Glide is pretty abstract," she murmured. Ash heard her, not really worried about it.

"Really?" Ash scoffed. "The Pokémon don't mind it. Look!" The two spotted Pikachu and Togepi wearing smaller bandannas of Little Glide and enjoying the masks. Misty knelt down to remove the headgear from Togepi as Ash and Latoya had a moment to enjoy being together, if only for a moment. But if Mr. Parker or Latoya need help, they can always turn to their new sidekick, Little Glide.

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><p>END of GROUND<br>(2/3 done. 4 to go. I'll refresh the polls for the final 4 chapters. Still, keep those votes coming.)


	9. Bashing Your Reason

A/N: Because of so much feedback, FIRE will be this chapter  
>Shipping: Imaginationshipping<p>

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><p><em>One-Shot 9: Bashing Your Reason<em>

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><p>Ash, Iris, Cilan and their Pokémon relaxed in the Pokémon Center where they waited on a special someone. As they waited, Ash had a bit of recollection. "I wonder if maybe I should hide behind a wall when she comes," he pondered. Hide behind a wall?<p>

"Come on, Ash," Cilan tried to butch Ash. "Sure, she has a tendency of running into you but there may be a reason behind it." There's a reason she_ runs into_ Ash? "Perhaps Bianca has feelings for you." Ash didn't want to believe Bianca, that airhead of a blond, had emotions for the trainer from Kanto.

"Really? The way she meets us, it'd be like if I was hit by Axew's Dragon Rage. I just get thrown back and mostly into water." Iris laughed at Ash's comparisons.

"It ain't all bad," she huffed. "Not only is she a klutz, she's also a tough rival, right?" Pikachu and Axew knew what Iris was coming from.

"I guess I can go with that word. Almost wanna say she reminds me of me if I was a girl." That's when Iris started to picture Ash in a dress, fitted with fancy high heels, growing a pair of chest hills...or breasts. Whatever Iris was thinking...it made her eye the bathroom. Was she sick or... BING!

"Mr. Ketchum, to the front desk, please," a voice over the PA system announced. "Your Pokémon have been checked out." The news of his other Pokémon were healthy had Ash stand up and walk to the front desk.

"Outta the way!" screamed a certain female as she blasted through the door. "Outta the way! Outta the way! Outta the way!" Ash tried to move but the floor was recently mopped and he couldn't get footing. The new girl bulldozed into Ash and sent him flying into the bathroom. The woman's bathroom, to be more precise! Some screams and some thwacks later, Ash was tossed out like James with Magikarp. The girl who slammed Ash into said bathroom was at the front desk. "Nurse Joy, is Ash and his group here?" Nurse Joy simply pointed to Ash who was soaked and socked. Even Iris and Cilan were shocked at what happened while the girl tended to Ash.

"Even with no water, Ash still ends up soaking wet with Bianca around," Iris sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Ash! I rushed here as fast as I could!" Ash, despite being drenched and decked around, still kept his good composure.

"Don't worry about it," he reassured no hard feelings. "By the way, why did you want to see us?" Bianca got giddy about the news she brought.

"Check this. I ran into your mom the other day. When she told me why she was here, I informed this Nurse Joy about her arrival and to hold you here." Just the news of Delia coming to visit her son had Ash panicking a bit.

"Mom's here? She didn't return home?" Someone wanted to check in on her baby boy. Just as Iris and Cilan were wondering who Ash's mother was...

"Ash!" she appeared with a gleeful cheer. Ash was about to be more embarrassed than ever. Delia came to him and hugged the son...right in front of the whole Center. Okay, most of the people and Pokémon weren't really paying that much attention. "How are you, my son?"

"G-Great, Mom. Check this." Ash pulled out his badge case to show Delia the badges he won: the Trio Badge, the Basic Badge, the Insect Badge and the Bolt Badge. Four badges so far, he's halfway through all the Gyms in Unova.

"I'm so proud of you! If Gary didn't stop Pokémon training, he'd already have his sixth badge." Ash dipped his head, remembering how much of a hotshot Gary was. He did not want to be reminded of him. "So, where are you heading next?" Ash recalled where they needed to go.

"Driftveil City. By the way, why are you still here and not back in Pallet Town?" Now Delia's cheeks reddened. Oh boy, don't say she fell in love with a handsome man. This is about Ash, not her.

"We've been helping Prof. Juniper and her interns so much, we've...missed numerous flights back to the Kanto Region." They've sacrificed their trips home to help the professor out. That's when she saw Iris and Cilan approaching. "Oh, who must these people be?" Iris was first.

"Hi, Mrs. Ketchum," she greeted. "I'm Iris." Axew popped out of Iris' hair to see Delia itself. "And this is my Pokémon, Axew." Axew beaked to also greet the mom.

"And I'm Cilan, Pokémon Connoisseur," Cilan introduced. "I was one of the Gym Leaders of the Striaton Gym which your son beat me and my brothers fair and square." Iris remembered that Gym Battle and saw things a little different.

"He beat you and Chili but he did lose to Cress. Still, he doesn't rely on Pokémon Type differences like any _normal_ trainer would. He beat Pansear with Tepig and your Pansage with Oshawott." Delia was humored, not scorned with Ash's way of battling.

"Well, that's my Ash for you. Since you're joining my son, it reminds me of when Ash defeated Brock in Pewter City and he joined Ash to become a breeder." Cilan didn't know that Ash had a Gym Leader join him after losing to the Pallet Town trainer.

"Ash?" Nurse Joy called out. "What about your Pokémon?" Ash was so caught up about his mother visiting that he forgot to get his Pokémon. He got his Pokémon and was ready to journey on. The group stepped out to resume the trip to Driftveil City. That's when Ash decided to bring up the topic about why Bianca kept running through him.

"Hey, Bianca?" he called to the blond. Bianca turned to Ash. "When you see us, why do you keep knocking me into water?" Bianca placed a finger on her chin, wondering about why she had a tendency of knocking Ash into a lake, a fountain...even the sinks or toilets of the woman's restroom.

"Do I knock you into water?" she unknowingly asked.

"Yeah...you do!" Iris pointed out. Bianca couldn't believe she was being chewed out. Delia had an intriguing guess.

"Perhaps she likes to see what's under a boy's clothes," she flirted a possibility. Scary. Ash would disagree.

"Mom, really?" he whined.

"Well...maybe it's that point in your life where love is necessary. You've got Iris who's a strong-willed Dragon trainer and you have Bianca who I believe acts just like you." Iris or Bianca? Why not Misty or May or even Dawn?

'What makes her think I get along with a little kid with romance?' Iris protested in thought. 'Though, she does have a point with Bianca being with Ash. Those two can get lost together.' Bianca wondered why Delia would think she's worthy of Ash's hand in love.

"With all the accusations that I run into Ash, maybe there's a reason," she pondered. "I'll admit, I don't watch my pace too often." That was a given. "Maybe it's the skirt." The skirt tripping her up? Not farfetched. Who actually runs in a skirt like that?

"Why would you want to wear a skirt in the first place?" That's an even better question, Iris.

"I don't want to look like a tomboy, especially with this short hair." Fair enough.

"Either way, whether it's Iris or Bianca," Cilan studied. "The recipe of blended flavors could either sweeten or sour the concoction. Right now, Bianca would be the sweetener while Iris would be just lemon juice." Bianca shone a glee while Iris fumed upset. Delia was somewhat impressed while unsure he wanted to compare the two girls like that.

"For a Pokémon Connoisseur, you don't wanna hold anything back," she awed. Cilan itched his head, thinking it was a tasty compliment. "But sometimes what you say can lead to some bad aftertaste." The fancy teen waiter gulped, thinking he downgraded Iris.

"You mean I can take your kid's hand in love if I wanted to?" Bianca shrilled, apparently excited. Iris, already teased Ash over and over, had to tell Bianca to slow down.

"You really think you can love Ash?" she sneered. "He doesn't know what love is, even if it plows him in the face." Man, all this constant badgering... Suddenly, a car horn. The group turned to spot Prof. Oak and Juniper in her van.

"There you are, Delia!" Oak sighed in relief. Then, he spotted Ash. "It seems you found our young adventurer. I hate to break the family reunion but there's a new flight leaving from the Nuvema in a few hours." Delia frowned. She didn't want to be separated from her son just an hour after finding him. Yet, her mind focused on her Mr. Mime. Can't really have a housekeeper who might sweep everything out of the household.

"Coming!" She turned to Ash. "Ash, don't try to rush love. You might not know it but you're waiting for love to come to you. Just keep in mind, you might need a significant _human _other, not just Pikachu." With that hope, Delia entered the van and the adults left, leaving the kids ready to head to Driftveil City. After some traveling, the kids and Pokémon had supper and set up camp. As they ate, Ash tried to understand what his mother meant.

"What did she mean?" he questioned. "Waiting for love to come to me?" This would be the perfect opportunity for the Pokémon Connoisseur to offer advice. However, his mouth was full of his own cooking. So, Bianca stepped up for him

"Ash, don't get so worked up about it," she scoffed. "When it happens, it happens. The best advice to help you is to concentrate on what you're doing right now and not to concern yourself with love." That's easy for Ash to assume.

"I guess." That discussion done, nighttime was present. All slept in either sleeping bags or Pokéballs. No, none of the humans would fit into a Pokéball but Bianca looked like she needed more cover. She was shivering pretty bad. She was so cold, she couldn't stay asleep. Instead of digging for extra wear to keep warm, she eyed Ash's bag with him inside. Getting to him wasn't a problem. Getting inside was a significantly different story. She Weedled her way into his sack and cuddled with Ash, her maturing breasts softly squeezing his arm. Feeling toasty now, Bianca fell asleep with a sleeping, oblivious Ash. The next morning, Iris and Cilan got a good, horrifying look at Ash and Bianca together in the same bag. Quickly, they began to yank Ash from under his sack while Ash, also awake but freaked out, was helpless. He wanted to get moving...but he also didn't want to be rude to a rival. Ash and Bianca, hugging him tightly, were extracted from the bag. Now it was time to extract each other. Cilan was pulling Ash and Iris yanking Bianca. It wasn't working. Iris had an idea.

"Excadrill, help us out!" she called out her Subterrene Pokémon. "Help us get Ash and Bianca free!" Excadrill got it's claws in between Ash and Bianca. All three pulled and push to separate. Man, Bianca's grip was super strong. All three of them together couldn't break them. That's when Ash had an idea. He's been awesome under pressure. This would be perfect for him.

"Okay, let me try something," he asked. Iris, Cilan and Excadrill wondered about this plan of his. He jerked his neck to face her. He trembled nervously. He was never nervous in Pokémon battles. He had enough straightened out to lunge his head and... freak out those still awake. He kissed Bianca...on the lips. A few seconds later, he broke away just as Bianca finally stirred. Her waking also loosened her titanium grip.

"Was that a morning kiss, Ash?" she weakly wondered. "We're not quite husband and wife." Someone was planning ahead, like a few years.

"No, Bianca," Cilan denied. "We were trying to separate you from Ash." Bianca didn't really appreciate someone trying to break her from anything.

"Well excuse me if I was feeling cold and decided to warm up with Ash! He had plenty of room in his bag to fit all of my Pokémon if he wanted to." Could that include Pikachu? Wait, he's still sleeping? Bianca then came back to Ash. "Anyway, I think I should return the favor. You kissed me. Now I kiss you." Fair trade clause. Bianca did what she said: she kissed Ash! Now Iris and Cilan weren't sure about splitting them. She wanted to do what Ash did and...she got it.

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><p>END of FIRE<br>(This time it was from deviantART that prompted this decision. Keep the votes coming.)


	10. I Saw Roxy Kissing Santa Ash!

A/N: Thanks to the revived votes, let's ROCK!

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><p>Shipping:MagneticRockShipper<p>

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><p><em>One-shot 10: I Saw Roxy Kissing Santa Ash<em>

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><p>DEAR ASH-<br>YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE INVITED TO THE CHRISTMAS PARTY HERE IN THE RUSTBURO TRAINER'S SCHOOL. WE'RE HAVING A BREAK WITH STUDIESAND THOUGHT YOU, MAY, MAX AND BROCK, AS WELL AS YOUR POKÉMON MIGHT WANT TO JOIN IN THE FESTIVITIES. I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU BE PART OF THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT.  
>-SINCERELY, ROXANNE, RUSTBURO GYM LEADER<p>

How about that? An invite to a Christmas party with a gym leader who's also a teacher. It didn't take long for Ash and the gang to reach Rustburo City since receiving the letter via Dragonite Express. "This is awesome!" Max cheered. "I get to spend Christmas with a bunch of other kids and with Roxanne!" Sure he's excited. Can't really say the same with big sister, May.

"It doesn't feel the same going to spend it with a school full of kids instead of with mom and dad," she whimpered. Max felt offended.

"What? Don't I count as family?" Realizing she omitted Max without thinking, May recanted her whining.

"O-O-Of course you do! I can't easily forget my little brother!" Ash snickered, humored between the bickering siblings.

"You two need to relax," smirked he. "It's the holidays after all. Eat, play and be merry. It's pretty much all we can do around the holiday season." Just sit back and enjoy. Pikachu agreed with Ash's reasoning of the Christmas celebration. Before reaching the school, the gang stopped by the Pokémon Center and greeted by the town's Nurse Joy wearing the red Santa hat.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center," she greeted. "Do you want your Pokémon checked out?"

"Yes, please!" May spoke for all of them. Nurse Joy was excited to give their Pokémon a good examination.

"So, what brings you back to Rustburo City?" Ash handed the letter to Joy to explain this return trip. "Ah, the Trainer's School's Christmas Party! I'm gonna be there, too!" To Brock, this was a dream come true.

"You will?" he screeched as he clasped Joy's hands, greatly freaking her out. "That's great. Not only will we enjoy treats with the children but I may be the one to catch you under the mistletoe!" Not on Max's watch, he won't. He snagged Brock by the ear and yanked him away.

"The only you'll be catching is my candy cane pulling you away!" he growled. That had to hurt him. Suddenly, a phone call. Nurse Joy walked over to answer it while May chased after Max to make sure Brock didn't hurt. Joy answered.

"Rustburo Pokémon Center," she identified. "This is Nurse Joy." A silent pause. Then a gasp. "What? You can't make it?" Can't make it?

("Who's saying they can't make it?") Pikachu wondered. Ash shrugged his shoulders, unsure if he could answer.

"Well, Ash and his friends are here," Joy told the caller. Another pause... "Really? Brock's taller. He could carry more." Brock? If there was little sense before, there was less now. "Alright. I'll let him know." Nurse Joy hung up the phone and waived Ash over. Ash got behind the counter and carried the trays with the Pokéballs to the back. No one seemed to notice. "I'm sorry to call you back here but..."

"What's wrong?" he anxiously wanted to know.

"Prof. Birch was suppose to be at the party dressed as Santa Claus. However, he suffered a minor back injury and the doctors have advised him to rest to avoid complicating matters. I'm afraid I don't have anyone else to turn to in this short time to be Santa." So that's the situation. An injury had forced Birch to sit on the sidelines and now he can't perform Santa. Now what?

"Why can't Brock be Santa? He's got the size for the job."

"Yes, I know. However, Max told the professor about his habit of chasing girls like myself, Officer Jenny and no doubt Roxanne. He'd be too distracted going after me or Roxanne to pay any attention to the kids." That should have been hinted when they stepped into the Pokémon Center. Ash was cornered. No way he could get help from Profs. Oak or Elm. They can't get here fast enough for the job. There was no choice.

"Okay...I'll help out." Clapping in acknowledgment, Joy got to the closet and pull out a genuine Santa suit. The suit was way too big to fit Ash. "How can we pull it off in such short time?" Meantime, Brock and the siblings were wondering what was taking Ash so long. All he had to do was give his Pokémon to Joy and then regroup with them.

"Don't tell me that Brock's flirting ways have finally rubbed off on Ash," Max wanted to hope it wasn't the case. May wanted to go check. There was little need when Pikachu returned to the group with a note.

"Pikachu?" May noticed hearing the squeak. "What's that?" She snagged the letter from Pikachu and checked it out.

SORRY ABOUT NOT RETURNING IMMEDIATELY. I'M GOING TO BE HELPING OUT NURSE JOY AND ROXANNE WITH THE PARTY. PLEASE KEEP AN EYE ON PIKACHU AND I'LL BE THERE WHEN I GET OFF.  
>-ASH<p>

He had to work? This was unfortunate. "That's weird," Max puzzled. "Why would Ash be helping Nurse Joy and Roxanne?" Brock wondered but had an idea.

"Maybe there's extra material that needed his aid," he believed. "And since Ash was within earshot, he was given the offer and he accepted." The brother and sister wondered what work Ash applied for. After their Pokémon were given clean bills of health, they proceeded to the Trainer's School where Roxanne was there to greet them.

"May, Max, Brock, you came!" she praised. Inside the gym, the kids and Pokémon were frolicking with sweets and games, some listening to classic Christmas music, it was kids being kids. That's when Roxanne noticed Pikachu without Ash. "Where's Ash?"

"Yeah, Ash is volunteering with Nurse Joy," Brock answered. Roxanne was a little concerned.

"That's odd. He's usually with Pikachu. I wonder why Nurse Joy needed his aid." She was hoping to see Ash? She'll get her wish but he's still getting ready. A few of the kids came forward to meet up with those who came.

"Hey, did you hear?" one boy cheered. "Santa Claus is coming!" The kids were excited to see Santa, unaware that "Santa" had pulled a back muscle. Brock was surrounded by kids, they became the blockade to keep him away from the cute gym leader. That or the kids reminded him of the brothers and sisters back in Pewter City. As they continued to play around, Nurse Joy entered.

"Hey, kids!" she announced. "It's Santa Claus! He's here!" Joy stepped aside when Ash entered in a full Santa uniform: puffy red suit, red pants, the snowy white beard, the hat...he's even carrying a giant load of presents in a huge sack.

"Ho, ho, ho!" he laughed in a _deep_ voice. "Merry Christmas, everyone! How are we all today?" The kids were excited to see Santa. To Brock and the siblings, something was amiss. Santa was short. Stout but short. Nevertheless, Ash gave gifts to all the little boys and girls in the Trainer's School. As the gifts were being passed around, the kids opened their presents which contained all sorts of toys. Ash and Joy also brought in a few Stantler, including one with red orbs in its antlers. The kids played around with the Big Horn Pokémon who were very friendly. Ash was down to a handful of presents...one with his name on it. There were ones with Brock, May, Max and Roxanne on them. Despite the suspicions, Ash's friends chose to play it off as if nothing was wrong.

"Hey, Santa!" Max called over. Ash, beaming a smile out of the enjoyment of these kids, turned to his friends.

"Ho, ho, ho! I nearly forgot about you!" He gently put the bag down and pulled out the presents. "This one is to Brock!" Retrieving the gift for Brock, Ash handed it to his breeder friend. Opening it, he found a new set of stainless steel pans.

"Thanks, Santa!" he appreciated. Next, he pulled out May's.

"This one is to May." The coordinator from Petalburg was pleased to receive a present from Ash Claus...oh, sorry, Ash Ketchum. Inside, a cat toy that her Skitty liked.

"Thanks a lot, Santa!" she beamed. Ash brought out the next present. This one was to Max.

"I cannot forget Max's present! Here you go, little boy!" Max snagged the present and ripped it open. There was a plush doll of a Ralts. It reminded him of a Ralts he protected from Team Rocket.

"Are you serious?" he yelped in glee. "You're the best, Santa!" Ash chuckled, nearly losing his disguised voice.

"Let's see, I've got a present for Ash...but it doesn't look like he's here." He acted...yes, acted...a bit upset about the absence of himself.

"Yeah, he's helping Nurse Joy back at the Pokémon Center," May explained. The act of disappointment lapped Ash's face.

"I see. When he comes, can I entrust anyone of you with giving him his present?" Before any of Ash's friends could respond...

"I can give it to him!" sounded Roxanne as she approached. When she was handed the present, Ash dug in to get her's.

"That's very generous of you. Meantime, here's yours." Roxanne was rather surprised. However, she decided not to open it like the rest of the kids.

"Thank you, Santa Claus!" Ash's sack was empty. His acting? Far from it.

"Well, it's back to my workshop in the North Pole. Still a few days before all my Stantler are ready to carry all the gifts to the good boys and girls on Christmas day." The kids were shocked that Santa Ketchum was leaving so soon. The Pokémon were too busy enjoying the holiday food to notice.

"You're not gonna stay for milk and cookies?" a little girl questioned.

"Unfortunately, I cannot. Hopefully, you'll leave some for me when I deliver more presents." The kids cheered as Ash made his exit with "his" Stantler. "Ho, ho, ho~! Merry Christmas to all...and to all, a good night!" And out went Ash and the Stantler as the kids and Pokémon enthralled with their Christmas presents. As Ash was helping the Stantler remove the red polish...there was snow falling! Ash became excited for the snowfall. "Wow, it's really snowing!" By the way, he's using his normal voice again. He rustled the Stantler back to the Pokémon Center as the kids were playing with their new toys alongside the Pokémon. Half an hour after "Santa" left, Ash arrived at the school.

"Ash!" shouted his friends as they and Pikachu dashed to greet him...covered in snow.

"Ash, what happened to you?" Max asked. Ash was quick to admit.

"Let's just say it's snowing outside," hr summed up. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's head and brushed the snow from the shoulders using his tail.

"Ash, you totally missed him! Santa was here!" Ash continued his act with "shock."

"What? He was here?"

"He was," the teacher/gym leader confirmed as she approached the visitors. "He also left this for you." Handed the gift, Ash wasn't sure about opening it or not. He wasn't acting with the gift. He didn't know what's inside. After Ash had some of the treats, he sat by a wall to reminisce the day as his friends have some time with the Pokémon. Roxanne came over to Ash after her talk with Nurse Joy. "So, you stepped in for Prof. Birch, huh?" The Pallet Town trainer spun to the gym leader he beat to get his first badge here in the Hoenn Region.

"Yeah, well...it was short notice. After Nurse Joy stuffed loads of wool, it took a bit of getting use to with the body all inflated and the presents carried." Roxanne would agree to Ash's difficulty.

"I can tell you that your acting was rather impressive...but you do need a little polishing." Ash realized that he wasn't perfect in Birch's place.

"Yeah, but it was pretty good. I mean, acting a the giving person felt awesome for a change." Acting as Santa or giving the presents to the little kids? That's when Ash took stock of Roxanne's present, still unwrapped. "Guess you're waiting for Christmas to open yours as well, huh?" Roxanne peered at her gift just begging to be opened up.

"Well, I thought of opening my gift with you." With Ash? Was she feeling all right? "After all, you're the one who introduced me to unique attacks and the first trainer to beat my Pokémon with an Electric Pokémon. All my students were amazed at how determined you and Pikachu were in taking down Geodude and Nosepass." Ash was humbled by Roxanne's review of the battle her students filmed. This also gave him an urge to see what he got from the real jolly man.

"You give it your all and get the experience from it." An interesting assessment.

"The more you learn..." Ash opened the present but instead of some navigating system which could help him in the future when he got lost again...it was a small springing fishing pole. What was on the hook was mistletoe...hanging over him. Santa gave Ash a joke. It's Christmas time, St. Nick, not April Fool's. It also gave Roxanne a scheme. Mistletoe over Ash equaled...SMOOCH! Whoa! Roxanne: Rock Pokémon, smooth lips...with Ash's friends paying no mind at all. Brock wasn't even aware of the prank left by Santa. All he would need to do is turn to see it...but nope! You know, now that there's a moment of thought, maybe Santa's gift to Ash _was _Roxanne. There he was peering around the wall and watching those two as Ash was succumbing to the kiss of the Rustburo Gym leader. Santa was amused.

"Didn't know my mistletoe gift could be such a knockout for Ash," he quietly laughed. Good one, Santa. Good one.

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><p>END of ROCK<br>(Hey, Santa made it into one of my one-shots! Awesome! There's still two more chapters to go and as always, keep those votes coming. In the meantime, I do wish everyone a safe and happy holidays as we approach the end of 2011 and the start of the leap year of 2012. So to all readers and reviewers...MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!)


	11. Front Side 360 Fillet O'Ash

A/N: As we wind down the year, your next choice is in the DARK. No, seriously. There's very little choices to go with and since I used Lily the Pokémon Magician last time, it's hard to come up with a proper story but...well, here goes.  
>Shipping: RecordShipper<p>

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><p><em>One-shot 11: Front Side 360 Fillet Ash<em>

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><p>5TH ANNUAL MT. CORONET XTREME SNOWBOARDING COMPETITION TODAY. ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE WELCOME TO SIGN AND COMPETE AND GET AN AUTOGRAPH FROM WORLD RECORD HOLDER, KIDD SUMMERS<p>

This was an open invitation to Ash as he, Brock, Dawn and the Pokémon arrived at the base of Mt. Coronet. Of course, Ash and Brock remembered Kidd. "It's been awhile since we last saw the record master," Ash thought back. "And now, she's sponsoring an extreme sport." Good for her.

"So you two actually knew her?" Dawn questioned. Of course. Why else would they be mentioning her?

"Yeah, we met in the Cameran Palace which was near the Tree of Beginning," Brock recalled. "She lost to Ash in the final round of the Palace Tournament. She did become a big help when a Mew had taken Pikachu to the Tree." Ash bobbed a nod to Brock's story.

"It was also where I learned about possessing aura," he added. Dawn remembered Ash possessing aura from when they rescued a special Riolu who could use Aura Sphere.

"You know, if you have had aura this whole time, why don't you use it to protect Pikachu from Team Rocket?" she pondered. It wasn't that Ash couldn't use it. Something Brock would help explain further.

"It's not that easy to use, let alone master," Brock clarified. "There are various ways of aura that can be used. Ash used his aura to sense Riolu when Pokémon Hunter J had taken him. Aura Users can also speak via the mind using Telepathy and can activate time flowers. However, they can also create attacks and barriers which if not kept in check can cost the user his life." Hearing that using aura could kill its user made Dawn glad he chose a safer path...only to be sidetracked by this event.

"This is gonna feel like back in Eggseter!" he stoked himself. "I wanna compete in this!" Brock, Dawn and the Pokémon sighed, expecting someone who wanted to show he wasn't afraid of anything. Someone else was happy to have extra competition.

"Looks like I'll have to stay on my board if I'm gonna beat everyone," voiced Kidd. All turned to the dark skinned girl in a new snazzy snowsuit. As soon as Brock eyed her...Oh boy!

"Kidd Summers, it's really you again!" he screeched as he jetted to her and clasped her hands.

"Brock...it's, uh...nice to see you again!"

"The honor should really go to you for showing up in a heated competition. I should probably make sure you're warm if you're gonna snowboard down Mt. Coronet-" BAM! Croagunk's Poison Jab refused to allow Brock to get any closer to Kidd. "If...Croagunk...wasn't...so...cold!" WHAM! On the floor paralyzed, Croagunk took the liberty of removing the lovelorn breeder. This allowed Kidd to see Ash once more and Pikachu.

"So, you wanna compete in the series of downhill races. But how are you gonna do that if you don't have a snowboard?" That's a problem Ash never assessed. You couldn't compete without a board to ride in the races.

"Well..." he stuttered. "Ya see..." Can't find the words to bail you out?

"Never came to mind, huh? Fortunately, you can rent one in the lodge. There's still plenty left." Relief. Ash knew what to do.

"Thanks, Kidd." Dawn could only watch, wondering if this was such a good idea for Ash to do this.

"Ash, this isn't like Eggseter," she reminded. "You don't have a Pokémon to guide you." Ash wasn't too concerned. Heck, he was stoked more than ever.

"No problem. I did do some boarding on the hills of Pallet the year before I acquired Pikachu. How bad could it be?" Kidd was about to drop some knowledge onto Ash.

"Well, you have experience," she scoffed. "But you need more than simple riding skills. You might wanna impress the judges as well. You might want to work on tricks. There are ramps and pipelines scattered all over the track." Tricks on the snowboard? That's something else Ash didn't think about. It didn't startle Ash.

"Like that's gonna stop me from beating you. I'm ready to leave an impression." Kidd was intimidated with Ash refusing to back away from competing. Finally, she had one more item to use.

"Nothing's stopping you? Alright. Beat me and I'm gonna give you something special." A wager.

"You're on!" After Ash rented a snowboard, Brock and Dawn had entered a lodge with a TV focused on the event. Brock was more occupied with the women in the lodge than he was about Ash's heats. Ash and Kidd completed the first two races in top positions, qualifying for the championship race. Dawn and the Pokémon watched in anticipation and impression that Ash not only had the guts to actually race down the snowy mountain but advance to the last race of the competition.

"This is the Finals for the Xtreme Snowboarding Competition," the disembodied TV announcer called out. "We have the top two competitors vying for top spot, Richard."

"Indeed we do, Carl!" Richard, the other disembodied TV announcer, acknowledged. "Newbie Ash Ketchum appears to show he's no rookie that is treated lightly. He had the best time in the Semifinals to go along with a double back flip Tweak Indy transition to a 50/50 Grind on the adjacent pipeline."

"How about World Record Maiden Kidd Summers? She made grab-to-rail-to-grab look easy with a Back Flip Nose Grab into a Tailslide and into a Front Flip Tail Grab, one combination that's difficult to imagine, let alone pull off."

"Well, with records that stretch _those_ thoughts, you'd expect anything that will make your jaw drop." The screen showed six people, including Ash slightly bundled up and Kidd on the far right of the racers.

"Here we go for the final run of the competition!" A series of beeps were signaling the racers to prepare for the gates to open. Finally, one loud beep opened the door and the racers were off. The half-dozen boarders began their swift descent down Mt. Coronet, gaining speed. No surprise, Kidd led by a length from Ash and the rest of the field. "Kidd is off to an early commanding lead but things could change in a matter of yards!" The field reached the first set of jumps. They took the first jumps easy with board grabs. Ash did an Indy grab while Kidd a nose grab. Kidd sped ahead of Ash, wanting to goad him into challenging her. Previous runs told Ash that there was a long pipe to grind on...and Kidd was way off the line to properly reach it. Scooting to the right, he spotted the pipe and spun a Front Side 360 to land perpendicular to the steel. The icy pipe helped glide Ash across some of the track and passed "the record holder of record holders." Kidd realized that the goad worked too well.

"That's what you think, Ash," she sneered as she pushed her board forward. Those inside the lodge were a little stunned that Ash managed to get ahead of Kidd. Same could go to the announcers.

"...And using that pipe grind, newbie Ash Ketchum has peeled into the lead as we pass the first checkpoint," Carl reported. "This boy from Pallet Town has been on a roll! It's like he was born to board!"

"Well, when I talked to him prior to his second heat, he says that he mountain boarded down grassy hillsides as a means of excitement as he readied himself to be a trainer," Richard followed up. "So, in a sense, you're right! He _was_ born to ride!" Approaching the midway point of the race, a scatter of ramps were the obstacles for the riders. But a bigger obstacle for Kidd was mobile, as in behind her. Her crouching on the board reduced wind resistance and helped close in on Ash when a spiky male sled into Kidd's path and then did a small leap with a back side 180...to Kidd's knee! The male landed fine but Kidd yelped in sudden and extreme pain as she doubled over and crashed. The yelp made Ash turn to see his friend wipe out.

"Kidd!" he shouted as she forced his board to stop, allowing everyone else to pass him. He began to scale back by hopping up the mountain in order to reach Kidd. The announcers were disgusted with the man's act on another racer.

"Ash has surrendered his lead to reach Kidd and for good reason. She took a shot to the knee by Jon Derricks! No doubt Jon's gonna be disqualified for that blatant strike!" Perhaps but he's got the lead right now. Ash reached Kidd and she was clutching her banged knee.

"My knee!" she writhed in excruciating agony. She couldn't move the knee and it was more than the fact that her legs were still attached to the board. Ash removed his and her boards from the boots and quickly used them as a makeshift gurney.

"Hang on!" he ordered. Kidd bobbed, still in a great amount of pain. Both began to slowly sled down Coronet, trying not to further irritate the injury.

"And would you look at that!" Richard huffed. "Ketchum is helping Summers down the mountain using their boards! No doubt Ash forfeited the race but when he heard that hit by Derricks, he wanted to make sure Summers got help. He's acting more fair than the jerk who buckled her together."

"Well no doubt, they'll get to the summit so that medics will start their work to save Kidd's knees," Carl sighed. "All in all, an ugly incident in the final round of this Xtreme event." Meanwhile at the bottom, the instigator crossed the finish line first to a jeering crowd. Jon was befuddled, oblivious to his illegal action.

"What?" he shrugged. The other three crossed the line and watched the crowd throw spoiled berries at Jon. As a judge came over to discuss his obstruction, Dawn, Brock and the Pokémon were anxious for Ash and Kidd. Ash did his best rounding the obstacle course as Kidd chilled.

"Y'know, Ash?" she spoke up. "Brock's not really my type. Despite being younger than me, you're more than him." Ash wanted to thank Kidd with that acknowledgment.

"You tell him, he won't be happy about it," he warned.

"True. But once I recover, I want you to be my witness to another world record." What's left? She's done more than anyone else that _hasn't_ been attempting to get into the book. It's like the record book was her own biography. "After all, I may need help on Pokémon training...and you're the guy to do it." Ash was humbled. When he looked up, he saw the finish line. It took about 20 minutes to get down the mountain safely but they arrived and was helped by waiting medics, their friends and Pokémon.

"Ash!" Dawn called out. Ash looked up to Dawn bringing him hot cocoa. The EMT were taking every precaution necessary to stabilize Kidd's wounded knee. They soon loaded Kidd onto a gurney and lifted the rolling bed.

"Hold on!" The EMT were wondering what's up? "I...I wanna thank Ash." Ash heard his name called out and got to Kidd's side. Her leg's busted up...but her arm was only bruised and in good enough shape to whisk Ash's head and pull herself up...SMOOCH! "Thank you!" Dawn saw the kiss, tightly hugging Piplup in any attempt to hide jealousy. Brock saw the kiss too and wasn't particularly proud of Ash getting the girl. He brought out a pan. Dawn was disguising her hatred to Kidd getting Ash but Brock wanted to let him know. POW! But Croagunk had other ideas.

"Why...do...you...hate...me...bud...dy?" he groaned as he collapsed. Hearing that thud, the younger two glared at the paralyzed breeder. Some habits do die hard. At the podium, Jon watched in helplessness as his board, used as a weapon, was destroyed by someone's Infernape.

"Ash!" Nurse Joy called out. Ash turned to the nurse fast approaching. "You're needed at the medal stand." Ash wondered about it as Kidd was carried onto an ambulance and driven off.

"Why?" he asked. "I finished in last place." He did. Well, technically, second-to-last because of Jon's disqualification.

"You're receiving a medal." Dawn had an idea on what Ash was being awarded with.

"I think it's a special award for helping Kidd down the mountain. Though I think you already got it from her." The kiss? It would explain her foul face. Ash stood by the podium, next to the other female who participated. Her place got bumped up from Jon's disqualification.

"Before we announce the medal winners, we will honor Ash Ketchum with the Helping Hand Teamwork Medal for aiding a fellow competitor in the time of need," someone on the PA system explained. A Chansey came over with a pearl medal in the shape of an egg which had two hands holding each other. Ash got a rousing round of applause from the spectators who saw his rescue. Ash didn't win the race, but he did win the trust of a record holder.

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><p>END of DARK<br>(Yeah, I do apologize if anything was OOC. It was difficult to come up with a character who had Dark Pokémon. One more! One more round and that will be it. The reason Kidd was chosen is because she has a pair of Weavile.)


	12. Joyful Dream

A/N: By a good margin, the last one-shot is NORMAL. Thank you for your votes. It wasn't possible without you.  
>Shipping: ProtectShipper<p>

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><p><em>One-Shot 12Final: Joyful Dream_

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><p>Ah, the Pokémon Center. A great break from an arduous length of travel and for the trainer from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region, the girl from the Village of Dragons and the Pokémon Connoisseur, it was their Pokémon in need of a proper checkup with the Center's operator, Nurse Joy, including a certain Alley Cat Pokémon abandoned by his team. "Hello?" Ash called. "Are you around, Nurse Joy?" No sound. It was odd.<p>

"Apparently not," Iris sighed. Cilan didn't like the setting with no Nurse Joy.

"Talk about missing an ingredient in a culinary masterpiece," he observed. It's still unclear where Nurse Joy was but Ash was still willing to call for her.

"Hello!" he repeated. The calls did get attention...from an Audino. It casually walked in with three trays for the Pokéballs.

("I heard ya all the first time,") groaned the Hearing Pokémon. ("And I do apologize. Nurse Joy's exhausted and is asleep.") For Meowth, understanding Pokémon tongue was a snap.

"Must have been a lot of injured Pokémon in such a short time," he figured. Ash and Iris turned their heads to the former member of Team Rocket.

"I take it Nurse Joy's resting herself, huh?" Iris assumed.

"Pretty much." Accepting the brief fate of the helpful nurse, the trainers placed their Pokéballs, Pikachu and Axew on the trays. As Ash placed his balls down, something caught the foreigner's eye. A piece of a photo of the bill of a red baseball cap. He lurched his head forward. What he saw flabbergasted him. There were photos of him...in the different tops and different events. There was him and Snorlax in the Pokémon Sumo competition which they won by beating Feraligatr in the final round. There was him in the Indigo League with his Kingler after their shutout victory against Mandy. Another had him and Paul, not looking at the battle in front, in the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition. The side of the front desk was littered with photos of Ash. Someone was obsessed with him.

"What are you doing, Ash?" sounded Iris. Balking, Ash lost balance and spun to the Dragon Girl, nearly falling over.

"Sorry, Iris," he apologized. "I- Something caught my eye, that's all." Iris scoffed and shook her head.

"Of course things catch your eye. You're not from around here! What a kid!" Ash groaned at Iris' tease but Meowth chose to aid what was once his enemy.

"It certainly takes one to know one, Miss Dragon!" he hissed. Ash was startled to see Meowth defending him. Iris didn't appreciate the backtalk.

"You take that back!"

"Make me!"

"You wanna get stuffed into a Pokéball?"

"You're itching to do that, twerp! I just know it!" As those two bicker, Ash refocused on why this Nurse Joy was so fond of Ash. It even had Cilan wondering as well...and _he's_ more local than Ash.

"So that's what caught your eyes," he realized. "Are these photos of you?" Ash was afraid to suffer embarrassment but he nodded to confirm that the boy in the pictures was the one standing aside the Connoisseur.

"That's me all right." Cilan didn't appear as flabbergasted as Ash, but very intrigued. Mainly because one of those had two extra people in the shot: Misty tugging away Brock by ear.

"Who are those two and what's going on?" He pointed to said photo which Ash peered at. It took a minute to remember that moment.

"It was my first tournament battle against Mandi and Team Rocket infiltrated the announcers' box to encourage me. The group of Officer Jennys came storming the box and arrested them. My traveling friends at the time were rather mystified that Team Rocker was cheering me on instead of going after Pikachu. Brock heard the Officer Jennys and recognized each Jenny with their corresponding city they were from, forcing Misty to drag him away." While clarified about who they were, Cilan had a question about Brock.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say Brock's easily infatuated with any Officer Jenny." Ash huffed at the humiliating truth.

"You don't need to be a detective to figure that out. Still, is it really Nurse Joy or Audino who has it out for me? I mean, thinking back to Krokorok for one..." Cilan knew better.

"I think you and Audino would not blend too well." Then it was Joy who liked Ash. "Why don't you relax? I'm gonna whip up dinner." Ash might need some food if only to reset his mindset.

"Yeah, good idea." As he joined with the rest...

("I need to see you, Meowth!") Audino called. Meowth gawked, a little surprised to have the Hearing Pokémon want him. Not even a Chansey had a desire for anyone from Team Rocket.

"Are you sure?" it wondered. With a nod from Audino, Meowth slowly pursued it into the back. With Iris and Cilan attended the loaned kitchen and the Pokémon getting checked out, Ash was alone, still wondering about why a Nurse Joy would have all these photos of Ash behind the desk. He observed the scene. There's only him. Not for long. A Joltik had crawled out from the other room. It's teeny-tiny legs were bandaged up. It was injured.

"Joltik?" he called out. Joltik scuttled up to Ash. "What are you doing?" That's when Ash felt a soothing vibration from Joltik's underbelly. "You're hungry, aren't you?" Ash got over to his bag and pulled out a canister of berries. "I think this Oran Berry should fill you up." Joltik nibbled through the Oran Berry quickly. "Wow, you're really hungry, Joltik." Choosing to return Joltik back into intensive care in the back. No doubt Iris and Cilan were wondering where Ash was. Ash was in the back and returning Joltik in the forbidden area. Placed back, Joltik gave a look passed Ash...and there she was. No, not the girl of his dreams. More of the girl who dreams of him. She's dreaming right now. Ash glared at her, pondering his next move. Approach her or stay back? The redness on her cheeks made Ash think she had a fever. He hustled over to her side and rested a hand on her forehead. This became strange. Core temperature's normal. It could be worse. He could be like Brock and play with the unconscious pink-haired girl's body. She did admire him so maybe a kiss from the boy she's been keeping pictures from. Or do you scoot out of there and leave? Joltik had to have seen all those pictures to come up with an idea that's literally shocking. The Attaching Pokémon used it's name well by attaching to Ash's head before...the Thunder Wave Treatment. Joltik zapped Ash who tried not to scream and wake Joy. But by doing so, Joltik shocked Ash into submission...and the lights went out in Pallet. THUD!

…

…

"Ash!" sounded a young angel. "Ash!" Ash began to wake up with Joy and a few Pokémon in his face. Audino, Pikachu and Meowth were concerned that Joltik's Thunder Wave did extensive damage.

("You all right, buddy?") Pikachu squeaked. Ash sat up, still pretty woozy from Joltik's attack.

"I need a minute," he murmured. Joy was happy to see Ash coherent...and lunged to hug him. Ash was taken aback if he could go back.

"You're here!" she cried. "My...My hero's here! In my Center! I'm the luckiest Joy, my dream's come true!" A hero? Well, Ash had saved plenty of Pokémon.

"Even now that she's mentioned the twerp as a hero to her, that still don't explain all those pictures by the front desk," Meowth shared his opinion. They may have been mortal enemies but even Pikachu wanted to side with the ex-Rocket.

("For once, I agree with you,") the Electric Mouse Pokémonacknowledged. Joy briefly broke her hug to relax.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. "It's just...you're always there to help the Pokémon. You've saved plenty of Pokémon like over in Castelia City and by Shamouti Island. You're also an exceptionally tough but caring trainer that I've grown fond over!" Fondness, huh? Guess when you meet your hero for the first time, you can't react normally and instead become verbally rampant.

"Boy, I didn't know I made an impact in Unova before even knowing about it," Ash stuttered. Joy laughed at Ash's oblivious humor.

"You're funny! And cute! I don't know why my sisters and cousins would just pass you off!" Perhaps they were too busy tending to the Pokémon to care. At least one Joy was happy to meet him.

"Guess not all Joys are alike." Nope. They _look_ alike but they can be very different inside...and that's not under their cute nursing uniforms. Just saying.

"Not me, at least." SMOOCH! Brock was mostly a fan of the nurse Joys. Just imagine learning that Ash got some of the nurse's "medication." Iris and Cilan finally arrived to see Joy laying the smooch on the Kanto Trainer. Needless to say how stunned they were.

"Ash!" Iris snapped. Ash spun his eye to an angered Dragon Girl and Cilan who seemed to be taking it in stride. Joy didn't react, instead continued tasting the lips she so desired.

"Oh, my," he awed. "An unusual blend of sugar and spice." All they would need was everything nice and this would be perfect, Prof. Utonium! Sorry, Powerpuff Girl reference. Joy broke away from Ash's lips and continued her _Joy_ful smile.

"Maybe after you compete in the Grand Tournament, you can come visit and maybe go on a date with me," she offered. Iris didn't want that to happen, even though she had no real purpose to back her claim.

"Oh no you don't!" she protested. "When he gets done, this kid is going back home to Pallet and never stepping foot on Unova again!" There's harsh and then there's...could vicious count. Joy got frightened by Iris' yell and clutched onto Ash vie the shoulders. That's when Ash came up with a solution.

"First off, Iris," he started. "Why are you still with me and Cilan?" Iris wasn't expecting a question like that, moreover from the subject himself.

"You know as well as I do! Such a kid!" While she was defiant in her saying, she also didn't answer his question.

"Which is?" He wanted Joy, Cilan and the Pokémon to know her reasons. That made Iris uncomfortable while that scheming Attaching Pokémon crawled up her back.

"To get you around the region! How much more do you really need?"

"Considering I never even asked for someone to help guide me around Unova? Plus, the Forest Voice in the Pinwheel Forest and guidance around Castelia City were less than impressive." Iris never wanted to be put in this position but it's suspected Joy's caring love somehow brought out Ash's composure.

"He does have a point," Cilan sided with Ash. "The only reason I find is to bitter the fresh taste of an imported fruit and ferment it with blame." Interesting input from the Pokémon Connoisseur.

"Quite a fancy way of saying to downgrade the twerp and his training skills," Meowth summed up. "Since he did finish in the Top 4 in the Lilly of the Valley Conference back in Sinnoh, he is no Spring Torchic. And besides, he's got a couple of Dragon Pokémon that could eat your Axew alive." Thanks for the input, Meowth, though some of it was rather exaggerated. Unable to take anymore of this, Iris stormed off in spite. She wanted to run to deafen her friends.

"You're all little kids!" she screamed as she fled. She'll be back.

"Sometimes even a juicy meal hides a fiery aftertaste," Cilan studied. Ash wondered if that was really necessary if only to get Iris to back off from them.

"Was it really needed?" he questioned. The Pokémon scoffed from that blank wonder.

("You started it,") Pikachu reminded.

"Yeah and we just backed you up," Meowth added. "After all, that breeder twerp will go through the roof when he finds out you were able to get Nurse Joy on your first try. Won't he be shocked." That's for sure. Speaking of...ZAP! Joltik shocked Iris who stumbled back, toastier than before. Joltik hopped off the downed Dragon Girl and hopped back to Ash and Joy, static...uh, ecstatic.

"Joltik wild?" he asked his girl-aid.

"Yeah, but I guess he saw my pictures of you, thinking you'll be here," Joy sighed in slight embarrassment. "Apparently, he knew you were coming more than I did." The two and Joltik laughed. There are all sorts of Nurse Joys in the world and while their job is to treat all the Pokémon, some have lives outside the Center. This was one.

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><p>END of NORMAL &amp; the ELEMENTS<br>(Thanks to all who've read this year's version of the 12 Elements of AshMas. It was pretty tricky with the addition of Best Wishes/Black & White. So as you finish this, have a happy new year and I'll see you back in 2012.)


End file.
